Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, found to have criminally damaged tree and Hadrian’s Wall
Two friends who embarked on a “moronic mission” to fell the Sycamore Gap tree with a chainsaw have been found guilty of “mindless” criminal damage.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, cut down the cherished tree, next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, as Storm Agnes raged in the early hours of 28 September 2023.
Many saw the beloved tree that Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham cut down as a part of north-east England’s DNA
“It was just a tree,” said a mystified Adam Carruthers, one of the two men who illegally cut down the tree at Sycamore Gap in the early hours of a stormy night nearly two years ago. “It was almost as if someone had been murdered.”
Carruthers was right about the reaction to the felling. Many likened its loss to that of a good friend or relative. Its destruction prompted feelings of sadness, grief and then blind fury. Some people wept.
Daniel Graham tells court it was suggested he accept responsibility ‘because I have mental health issues’
One of the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree has denied being responsible and said he was asked to take the blame because he had mental health issues.
Daniel Graham said his co-defendant, Adam Carruthers, was responsible for felling the tree next to Hadrian’s Wall.
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