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Two British men, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, were sentenced to more than four years in prison on Tuesday for chopping down the iconic Sycamore Gap Tree. The tree, which stood for nearly two centuries near Hadrian’s Wall, was a beloved landmark and popular photography subject. The men were found guilty in May of criminal damage for the September 2023 incident.
Justice Christina Lambert handed down the four-year, three-month sentence at Newcastle Crown Court, describing their actions as “deliberate and mindless.” The prosecution argued the act, apparently intended as a joke, caused over £622,000 in damages to the tree and additional damage to the historic Roman wall. The pair could have received a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The felling of the Sycamore Gap Tree sparked outrage both in the U.K. and abroad. The National Trust, which owns the land, described the act as shocking and highlighted the tree’s significance as a regional emblem and backdrop for countless memories.
According to prosecutors, Graham and Carruthers drove to the site in Graham’s Range Rover and used a chainsaw to cut down the tree in minutes. They then returned to Carlisle, where they lived. The tree gained international recognition after being featured in the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and was named the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year in 2016.
The National Trust has cultivated 49 saplings from the tree’s seeds and plans to plant them across the U.K. this winter. A large section of the trunk is now part of a permanent art installation at a nearby visitor center, allowing people to connect with the legacy of the tree.