A prosecutor in the United Kingdom said that two men embarked on a “scary mission” aimed at reducing the famous Sycamore Gaping tree in Northumberland in a “deliberate and insane criminal damage”.
The tree, venerated for its symmetrical perch between two hills along the Hadrian wall, was killed in the early hours of September 28, 2023, damaging the stone wall while it crashed to the ground.
Although the sound was heard by a few, the discovery of the fallen tree has repercussions through the United Kingdom and caused a national outcry.
“Although the tree has grown up for more than 100 years, the act of irreparably damaged damage damaged a question of a few minutes,” said prosecutor Richard Wright to jurors in the opening declarations at Newcastle Crown Court.
Wright described the evidence against Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, who pleaded not guilty to two leaders of criminal damage.
The prosecutors said that the value of the tree exceeded £ 620,000 (€ 728,000) and that the wall damage was estimated at £ 1,100 (€ 1,293).
Wright said one of the men had used a chainsaw to expertly fall in the Northumberland National Park, while the other filmed the act using a phone.
While returning home thereafter in the Graham Range Rover, Carruthers received a video from his young child from his partner and replied: “I have a better video than this,” said Wright.
“At the time of this textual conversation, the only people in the world who knew that the tree had been shot was the men who had shot him,” said Wright.
“And the only people in the world who had access to the video were the men who had filmed themselves cutting the tree: the defendants Graham and Carruthers.”
The tree was far from the greatest or older ones in Great Britain. But the way in which its graceful canopy filled the saddle in the hills along a section of the old wall built by the Emperor Hadrian in AD122 to protect the northwest border of the Roman Empire had attracted generations of disciples.
The wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The tree became famous after being presented in Kevin Costner's film in 1991 “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and was a big draw for tourists, landscape photographers and people who take selfies.
A criminal prosecution for having cut a tree is rare and a prison sentence could be unprecedented if there is a conviction, said Sarah Dodd, a lawyer specializing in trees.
The maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years in prison.
ADVERTISEMENT“I don't think anyone has a childcare sentence for the illegal slaughter of a tree in the United Kingdom,” said Dodd. “It is on the table because of the severity of the situation. And when I say the gravity, I think that the value and also the shock of the nation.”
'A source of great pride'
Before the tree was reduced, around 80% of requests for information at the Northumberland National Park Visitors came from people who planned to go to the tree, said Park Managing Director Tony Gates.
“The tree is part of our Northumbria identity. This is something that everyone is growing up,” said Catherine Cape, who has a nearby guest cabin. “For people in the villages around the tree, who live near the tree, it was a source of great pride.”
The Sycomore shot down was removed with a crane and taken to a property of national trust for storage.
ADVERTISEMENTA safe section presented itself at the Parc du Parc last year and the tree seeds that were used to grow young trees are given for planting the United Kingdom.
The tree is now closed, but there are possible recovery signs. Dozens of shoots have germinated stacks.
