UK: Sycamore Gap tree vandals sentenced to prison

The two men were sentenced to more than four years in prison for cutting down the 150-year-old tree. A prosecutor called their act a "moronic mission."

A UK court sentenced on Tuesday two men who cut down England's Sycamore Gap tree to over four years in prison.

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were found guilty of traveling from their homes in the middle of the night, in September 2023, to cut down the beloved tree, that had been a well-known landmark.

The tree stood for some 150-years and appeared in the Hollywood film the 1991 film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

Prosecutors described the duo's act as a "moronic mission."

What did the court say?

Graham and Carruthers were found guilty of the "mindless" and "deliberate" felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in a 2023 an incident that sparked national outrage. 

Judge Christina Lambert said their actions had involved a "high degree of planning and preparation" and caused widespread "shock and bewilderment."

They each received a prison sentence of four years and three months. The pair was convicted on two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore tree and to Hadrian's Wall, an ancient Roman wall which was damaged when the tree fell on it.

They were jointly charged with causing £622,191 ($832,821, roughly €713,823) of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 of damage to the wall.

Lambert described the tree as "a landmark, a symbol of the beauty of its untamed landscape" for those who lived in the county.

"This iconic tree can never be replaced," said Andrew Poad, a manager with the National Trust conservation charity, in a victim impact statement read to the court. "It belonged to the people. It was totemic." 

Poad said the felling was "beyond comprehension" and had caused "an overwhelming sense of loss and confusion."

Carruthers' lawyer Andrew Gurney described the act, which was filmed and later shared, as  "drunken stupidity."

Why was the Sycamore Gap tree so special?

The tree was a symbol of northeast England and a main landmark, with millions of visitors photographing it over the years. 

In 2016, it won the Woodland Trust's Tree of the Year title.

Perched in a saddle between two hills, its cameo in Kevin Costner's 1991 film "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves" brought it to global fame.

The National Trust said in August last year that the base of the tree bore some signs of life, sparking hopes for its survival.

Last week, the Northumberland National Park announced that the Sycamore Gap's largest part would go on display in an installation near where it once stood.

Edited by: Kieran Burke