Sycamore Gap pair 'filmed act of cutting down ancient tree and bragged about it' (2025)

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both deny causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the sycamore which stood by Hadrian's Wall.

The two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree filmed themselves on their 'moronic mission' then boasted about it in text messages, a court heard today.

Ground workers Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, boasted about cutting down the world famous tree after they took a chain saw to it overnight on Sept 27, 2023. A forensic botanist also examined a piece of wood found in Graham's Range Rover and said there was strong evidence to suggest it was a wedge which had been used in the felling, Newcastle crown court heard. The pair, who were friends and groundworkers who knew how to use chainsaws, set off late on Sept 27 in Graham's Range Rover from the Carlisle area. They were heading for the Sycamore Gap, with chainsaws in the vehicle, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told Newcastle crown court.

"Two men are responsible for that mindless vandalism, the defendants Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers," he told the jury. "They travelled together, in Graham’s Range Rover, from the Carlisle area where they lived towards Sycamore Gap.

"They parked, walked to the tree, and then used a chainsaw to deliberately fell it. The technique that they used showed expertise and a determined, deliberate approach to the felling.

"First, they marked the intended cut with silver spray paint, before then cutting out a wedge that would dictate the direction in which the tree would fall.

"One of the men then cut across the trunk, causing the Sycamore to fall, hitting the wall. Whilst he did that, the other filmed the act on Graham’s mobile telephone." The tree, which had been grown there for 'more than 100 years', was irreparably damaged in 'a matter of minutes," Mr Wright added. He went on: "Having completed their moronic mission, the pair got back into the Range Rover, and travelled back towards Carlisle. "During that return journey Carruthers received a video of his young child from his partner. He replied to her ‘I’ve got a better video than that’. "Minutes later the video of the felling of the tree was sent from Graham’s phone to Carruthers’ phone. At the time of that text conversation the only people who knew that the tree had been felled were the men who had felled it.

"The only people who had access to the video were the men who had filmed themselves in the act of cutting down the tree; the defendants Graham and Carruthers. "Not content with the video of their activity, at two in the morning that same night, photographs and two short videos were taken on Graham’s mobile telephone which showed a piece of wood, next to a chainsaw, in the boot of Graham’s Range Rover. "A forensic botanist has confirmed that there is ‘very strong evidence’ to support the hypothesis that the piece of wood in the video and images is the wedge that was taken from Sycamore Gap." Mr Wright added: "This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in. "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 responsible." The jury heard one member of the public, Kevin Hartness, posted to a Facebook page about the tree a message that summed up the sentiments of many ‘some weak people that walk this earth disgusting behaviour’. Mr Wright told the jury: "Carruthers sent the post on to Graham, and he replied to Carruthers with a voice note ‘That Kevin Hartness comment. Weak… f***ing weak? Does he realise how heavy shit is?’ "Carruthers replies with his own voice note: "I’d like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night… I don’t think he’s got the minerals’."‘An operation like we did last night’. The clearest confirmation that Carruthers and Graham were both responsible for the deliberate felling of the tree and the subsequent damage to Hadrian’s Wall,"

The two men both deny causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the Sycamore Gap tree.

The jury was chosen after they filled in the questionnaire. They were also asked if they knew anyone on a list of witnesses which were read out to them.

Judge Lambert told them that they had to 'put emotion to one side' in considering the case. She added that they should only rely on what was heard 'within this court' and to ignore anything that they had read or heard about the case in newspaper and TV reports or on social media.

The jurors were also asked if they had ever worked for the National Trust or Historic England. They were not ruled out of jury service by being members of either organisation.

Groundworkers Graham, dressed in a white shirt, and Carruthers, in a dark suit, white shirt and grey tie, both deny causing criminal damage to the much-photographed Northumberland tree.

The two men are also charged with causing £1,144 of damage to Hadrian's Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The maximum sentence if found guilty is 10 years. The two-week trial, originally scheduled to start in December, was postponed because Graham was ill.

Graham, of Millbeck, Grinsdale, near Carlisle, Cumbria, and Carruthers, of Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria, appeared side by side in the dock.