By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — The two men who long denied cutting down England’s beloved Sycamore Gap tree changed their tune Tuesday as they faced several years in prison for the crime.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers previously testified at trial that they had nothing to do with the vandalism, but a prosecutor said that the two convicts now blame booze for the act as they admitted before sentencing that they had been on what he termed a “moronic mission” to topple the tree.
Prosecutor Richard Wright said that it was a “fanciful proposition” that they didn’t intend to cut down the tree along Hadrian’s Wall or realize what they were doing until it was too late.
“The court can be sure they were sober, prepared and planned to do what they did,” Wright said. He said the pair should serve prison sentences between 18 months and 4 years.
Justice Christina Lambert was due to sentence the pair later in the afternoon at Newcastle Crown Court.
Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, were each convicted in May of two counts of criminal damage — one for killing the tree, and the other for damaging the ancient wall.
The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage and news quickly spread beyond the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.
It wasn’t Britain’s biggest or oldest tree, but the sycamore was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The tree had long been known to locals but became famous after a cameo in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.” It drew tourists, lovers, landscape photographers and even those who spread the ashes of loved ones. It was voted English “Tree of the Year” in 2016.
“This iconic tree can never be replaced,” Andrew Poad, general manager of the heritage and nature conservation charity National Trust, said in a statement read in court by a prosecutor. “It belonged to the people. It was a totemic symbol for many; a destination to visit whilst walking Hadrian’s Wall, a place to make memories, take photos in all seasons; but it was also a place of sanctuary.”
One man wielded a chainsaw while the other captured the felling on grainy video on a cellphone. Prosecutors couldn’t say who cut down the tree and who memorialized the senseless act, but both were equally culpable.
In less than three minutes, the tree that had stood nearly 150 years crashed to the ground.
Carruthers will have to carry the burden for his actions like a “form of personal penance,” attorney Andrew Gurney said.
“It was no more than drunken stupidity,” Gurney said, “and something he would regret for the rest of his life.”
At trial, the two men — once the best of friends who have fallen out since their arrests — testified they were at their respective homes on the night of the crime and downplayed their skills working with chainsaws.
But evidence shown to the jury implicated both men.
Graham’s Range Rover was near the tree around the time it fell. Video of the felling was found on his phone — with metadata showing that it was shot at the location of the tree.
As digital data showed Graham’s vehicle on its way back to where the two lived about 40 minutes away, Carruthers got a text from his girlfriend with footage of their 12-day-old son.
“I’ve got a better video than that,” Carruthers replied.
The jury didn’t hear evidence of a motive for the crime, but Wright suggested in his closing argument that the two had been on a “moronic mission” and cut down the tree as a joke.
“They woke up the morning after and … it must have dawned on them that they couldn’t see anyone else smiling,” Wright said.