The duo is charged with causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the much-photographed Northumberland tree
Two men embarked upon a “moronic mission” to fell the popular Sycamore Gap tree in an act of “mindless vandalism” which they filmed on a phone, a court heard.
Prosecutors told Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday that Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers used a chainsaw to cut the tree down and that “the technique that they used showed expertise and a determined, deliberate approach to the felling”, prosecutors told Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday. Prosecutor Richard Wright KC, said that one of the two men cut across the trunk which caused the sycamore to fall, hitting Hadrian’s Wall in the process.
The other defendant went on to film what was being done on Graham’s mobile phone.
Mr Wright said: “The prosecution say that two men are responsible for that mindless vandalism – the defendants, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers.”
The prosecutor said that the duo had driven to the Sycamore Gap area of Northumberland in a Range Rover belonging to Graham from the Carlisle area, where they lived, late on September 27, 2023. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
Opening the case for the prosecution, Mr Wright said to the jury: “Though the tree had grown for over 100 years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes.
“Having completed their moronic mission, the pair got back into the Range Rover, and travelled back towards Carlisle.”
Graham, 39, of Millbeck Stables, Carlisle, and Carruthers, 32, of Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria, have both denied two counts each of criminal damage.
They are both jointly charged with causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the much-photographed Northumberland tree.
Additionally, both of them have been charged with causing £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Both the wall and the tree belong to the National Trust.
Mr Wright, prosecuting, told the jury: “Over many years the tree, and its situation, became a famous site, reproduced countless times in photographs, feature films, and art.”
He added: “By sunrise on Thursday September 28, the tree had been deliberately felled with a chainsaw in an act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.”
Mr Wright added that the defendant had marked their intended cut on the tree with silver spray paint before they cut out a wedge that would dictate the direction in which the tree would fall.
Jurors were also told that photographs and two short videos were captured on Graham’s mobile telephone that showed a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the boot of his vehicle.
Mr Wright said that a forensic botanist confirmed that there is “very strong evidence” to support the hypothesis that the piece of wood was taken from Sycamore Gap.
He said: “This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in.”
The court was further told: “When on Thursday morning the felled tree was discovered and global media began reporting the news, Carruthers and Graham shared social media posts about it with each other, Graham saying to Carruthers, ‘here we go’.
“The discussions between the pair are a clear indication that they were the men that cut down the tree.”
The prosecutors added that the defendants joked about “an operation like we did last night” a day after the tree fell.
He said Carruthers had sent Graham a Facebook post from a man called Kevin Hartness which said: “Some weak people that walk this earth disgusting behaviour.”
Graham replied to Carruthers with a voice note two minutes later, saying: “That Kevin Hartness comment. Weak … f****** weak? Does he realise how heavy shit is?”
Carruthers responded with a voice note of his own saying: “I’d like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night … I don’t think he’s got the minerals.”
Mr Wright said that this was “the clearest confirmation, in their own voices, that Carruthers and Graham were both responsible for the deliberate felling of the tree and the subsequent damage to Hadrian’s Wall”.
He also told the jurors that the duo were “friends who were regularly in each other’s company”, adding that Graham runs a groundwork company and Carruthers informed the police that he worked in property maintenance and mechanics.
The prosecutor said that a walker had photographed the tree still standing, “as it had been for over 100 years”, at around 5.20pm on September 27 2023, as a storm approached.
He added that the damage to tree was reported to police at 9.46am the following day.
Mr Wright explained that the method used for cutting the tree using a wedge “shows that the tree was felled by someone with some knowledge of how to fell a tree”.
The prosecutor further said that the wedge that was cut from the tree has never been found.
He went on to remind the jury that the prosecution suggest the wedge was taken by the defendants as “some sort of trophy or reminder of this senseless act”.
Mr Wright said that police discovered a chainsaw blade and cover at Graham’s property, and a chainsaw at Carruthers’ but they cannot say whether these were the actual saws used in the felling.
He added that the prosecution is that the chainsaw used to fell the tree has been hidden and “it simply has not been found”.
Mr Wright said: “The simple point is that these are men with knowledge of how to fell a tree of this size, had access to a wide variety of equipment and the relevant equipment, worked together to carry out tree felling and had a close friendship at the time.”
