The two men who felled the Sycamore Gap tree in what prosecutors called a “moronic mission” have been sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
Former friends Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the landscape, in May.
Its destruction, filmed on a mobile phone, took less than three minutes.
The pair were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian’s Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument.
Mrs Justice Lambert, who sentenced the pair at Newcastle Crown Court, said she was satisfied both were “equally culpable for the destruction of the tree and the damage to the wall”.
Graham and Carruthers, who have been held in custody following their trial, had initially both sought to blame one another.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said that in their pre-sentence reports both defendants “now appear to have admitted their role in felling the tree, in the sense they both admit they went on the mission”.
He told the court they denied intending for the tree to be cut down, either saying they were intoxicated or that they “didn’t believe it would happen until it did”.
Mrs Justice Lambert said she did not accept
Mr Wright said: “The prosecution rejects these late admissions… The court can be sure they were sober and prepared to do what they did.”
He previously told jurors the pair had engaged in a “moronic mission” to cut down the landmark, travelling for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria, then carrying their equipment across pitch black moorland during a storm back in September 2023.
The tree’s value was initially assessed as £622,191 (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)Detailing which of the “experienced tree surgeons” took on which role, Mrs Justice Lambert said Carruthers cut down the tree and Graham filmed the act.
They took a wedge from the tree as a trophy that has never been recovered and revelled in the media coverage, as news of the vandalism caused national and international headlines.
The tree was a symbol of Northumberland, was the site of countless family visits and featured in the Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Its value was initially assessed as £622,191, while damage to Hadrian’s Wall was calculated to be £1,144.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said the value of the tree has been disputed, and that the lowest figure the Crown would agree with was £458,000. Defence experts said it was closer to £150,000.
The Sycamore Gap tree fellers’ sentence – explained
When she remanded the pair, Mrs Justice Lambert said they could face “a lengthy period in custody”.
The maximum sentence for criminal damage where the value exceeds £5,000 is 10 years and aggravating factors include whether it was done to a heritage or cultural asset and evidence of wider impact on the community.
On Tuesday, Mr Wright said the two offences were committed jointly by both defendants throughout.
Mrs Justice Lambert asked if Mr Wright would consider a four-year sentence sufficient.
He said it was not for the Crown to suggest a specific sentence but the guidelines provided “headroom” for the judge to take the starting point of 18 months and then lengthen the jail term when considering aggravating factors.
The court found count one fell into the highest categories for both culpability and harm, which yields a sentence range of six months to four years in custody, with a starting point of one-and-a-half years in custody.
Mrs Justice Lambert found count two fell in category b, medium culpability, and category two for harm. The sentence range extends from a medium level community order to nine months in custody, with the starting point of a high level community order.
The defendants were once close, working and socialising together, but have fallen out since their arrests and each has come to blame the other.
Graham’s Range Rover was picked up on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras between Carlisle and Sycamore Gap at night on 27 September 2023, and returning early the next morning. His mobile was traced to phone masts making the same journey.
square CRIME Sycamore Gap tree vandals to learn their fate
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When police arrested the pair and searched Graham’s phone, they found a two-minute and 41-second video, which showed the sycamore being cut down at 12.30am on 28 September, and had been sent to Carruthers.
Messages and voice notes between Graham and Carruthers the next day showed them talking about the story going “wild” and “viral”.
At trial, Graham claimed Carruthers had a fascination with the sycamore, saying he had described it as “the most famous tree in the world” and spoken of wanting to cut it down, even keeping a piece of string in his workshop that he had used to measure its circumference. He described the act as Carruthers’s “dream”.
Carruthers denied this and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was “just a tree”.
Shoots appear to be growing on the base of Sycamore gap tree in Northumberland (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)Andrew Poad, a manager at the National Trust, which owned the tree and wall, gave a victim impact statement which was read out by Rebecca Brown, prosecution junior counsel, during the sentencing hearing.
Mr Poad said: “This iconic tree can never be replaced.
“Whilst the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belonged to the people.
“It was totemic.”
Mr Poad added: “An overwhelming sense of loss and confusion was felt across the world.
“The question was why anyone would do this to such a beautiful tree in such a special place.
Additional reporting by PA News Agency
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