IN FULL: Pair who felled Sycamore Gap tree each jailed for more than four years

Описание: The two men who felled the iconic Sycamore Gap tree have each been jailed for four years and three months.

Adam Carruthers, 32, and Daniel Graham, 39, drove 30 miles through a storm from Cumbria to Northumberland in September 2023 before cutting down the landmark in less than three minutes.

Prosecutors said their "moronic mission" caused more than £620,000 worth of damage to the tree and over £1,000 worth of damage to Hadrian's Wall, where it fell.

They took a wedge as a trophy, which has never been recovered, and seemed to revel in the media coverage, exchanging messages and voice notes about the story going "wild" and "viral".

Footage of the moment the tree was felled was played during the men's trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where they both denied but were found guilty of two counts of criminal damage.

The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, told them: "You, Adam Carruthers were the person who felled the tree, while you, Daniel Graham, assisted and encouraged him by driving there and back and, not least, by filming the crime on your mobile phone."

The judge said she found the pair jointly culpable, adding that a "major factor" in their motivation was "sheer bravado", telling them she found that felling the tree in the middle of the night during a storm "gave you a sort of thrill".

"You revelled in the coverage, taking evidential pride in what you had done, knowing you were responsible for the crime everyone was talking about," she added.

During their trial, Graham and Carruthers, who were once close friends, gave no explanation for why they targeted the tree, and since their arrests, they have fallen out and have blamed each other.

This video has been edited to remove extreme language.

The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/re...

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