Man jailed for felling the Sycamore Gap tree released after just 10 months

One of the two men who cut down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree is said to have been released from jail.

Adam Carruthers, 33, was handed a four-year sentence for felling the famous Northumberland tree with Daniel Graham.

The pair went on a ‘moronic mission’ to chop down the landmark at Hadrian’s Wall in September 2023, an act that left the nation gobsmacked and saw part of the historic wall being damaged too.

Now Carruthers has been released back into the community after serving around ten months, it is understood.

Both men were told during their trial that they would serve 40% of their sentences behind bars, with the remainder to be completed on licence in the community.

Carruthers was released under a scheme known as the Home Detention Curfew Scheme at some point in March.

The decision is said to have been taken by the governor of the prison where he was serving following a risk assessment.

The 33-year-old spoke to ITV off-camera at a Cumbria turf business where he used to work.

He said he was happy to be out of prison.

Carruthers will still need to wear an electronic tag and follow a curfew and licence conditions.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told Metro: ‘Anyone released into Home Detention Curfew faces strict licence conditions and must be tagged. Those who break the rules can be returned to prison.’

Graham, 40, and Carruthers were jailed after the court found they had driven 40 minutes in the night to cut the tree, which took them under three minutes to do as they brought tools with them.

The pair thought it would be a ‘bit of a laugh’ to fell the Robin Hood tree which was up to 120 years old.

While the original Sycamore Gap tree that inspired films and poems has been lost, its saplings might be salvageable.

Cuttings from the majestic tree were rescued by National Trust and planted last year to try to allow it to live on.

While the Sycamore tree is now just a stump, the scientists removed almost 50 saplings before it was too late.

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