Two men were sentenced to more than four years in prison on Tuesday for felling Britain’s iconic 'Sycamore Gap' tree, a world-famous landmark whose striking silhouette was once featured in a Hollywood film.
Sentencing Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, to four years and three months in prison, Judge Christina Lambert told the men they had cut down the tree out of "sheer bravado".
“Mr. Carruthers, your account that you had so much to drink that you had no memory of what you did that night is not plausible. The tree felling demonstrated skill. It required deliberate and coordinated actions by you. As Mr.Graham commented the next day, having seen the photograph of the stump, you didn’t get a bad angle on the stump, and the job seemed professional,” said Judge Lambert.
Estimated to be almost 200-years-old, the sycamore tree stood in the middle of a deep natural hollow in the landscape alongside the historic Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, which made it a popular spot for photographers, hikers, and even marriage proposals.
The pair were found guilty last month of travelling from their homes in the middle of the night in September 2023 to deliberately cut it down using a chainsaw.
Described by the prosecutors as “moronic mission,” the pair filmed the act on Graham’s mobile phone and later bragged about it, before their friendship turned into hostility as their actions caused widespread anger.
Both had denied any involvement in the annihilation of the tree that was featured in the 1991 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'. The duo also damaged part of Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago.
Eventually, Graham and Carruthers did accept their responsibility when speaking to the probation officers, their lawyers said.
Carruthers’s lawyer, Andrew Gurney, described the crime as "drunken stupidity."
The National Trust, a heritage conservation charity responsible for the site, announced last August that new growth was visible at the tree’s base, raising hopes it could survive.
Meanwhile, last week, the Northumberland National Park said that the largest remaining section of the tree will be displayed in an installation near its original location.
New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would broaden sanctions against Russia’s oil sector and its so-called shadow fleet, during a meeting with ...
Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals...
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed to a deal with Vietnam to curb illegal migration in what it described as the strongest Hanoi had ever agreed w...
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, announced that he had ordered the Department...
U.S. President Donald Trump met with China's leader Xi Jinping at a South Korean air base on Thursday for discussions on a possible trade war truce be...
New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would broaden sanctions against Russia’s oil sector and its so-called shadow fleet, during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the five Nordic countries in Stockholm.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with China's leader Xi Jinping at a South Korean air base on Thursday for discussions on a possible trade war truce between the world's two largest economies.
Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto's key free school meal programme, an official said.
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed to a deal with Vietnam to curb illegal migration in what it described as the strongest Hanoi had ever agreed with another country.
A small, silent object from another star is cutting through the Solar System. It’s real, not a film, and one scientist thinks it might be sending a message.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would broaden sanctions against Russia’s oil sector and its so-called shadow fleet, during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the five Nordic countries in Stockholm.
Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto's key free school meal programme, an official said.
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed to a deal with Vietnam to curb illegal migration in what it described as the strongest Hanoi had ever agreed with another country.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, announced that he had ordered the Department of Defense to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing on an “equal footing” with other nuclear powers.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with China's leader Xi Jinping at a South Korean air base on Thursday for discussions on a possible trade war truce between the world's two largest economies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment