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Price of Thieves: men who cut down Sycamore Gap tree jailed for 4 years [1]
['Rob Beschizza']
Date: 2025-07-17
Convicted of felling England's famed Sycamore Gap tree in a "malicious act of vandalism," Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were today sentenced to 4 years in jail for the crime. They will serve about two years, if they are well-behaved.
Each was sent down on two counts in May, one for the tree and the other for damaging Hadrian's wall, built by the Romans across northern England to mark the Empire's limits.
The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage. It wasn't Britain's biggest or oldest tree, but it was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While Graham had a previous criminal record and Carruthers didn't, Justice Christina Lambert said on Tuesday at Newcastle Crown Court she found them equally culpable. Graham filmed the act, while Carruthers wielded the chainsaw.
In further good news, the living stump has sprouted new shoots and, heavily coppiced as it is, may eventually recover its former stature. One may also hug the recovered trunk at a nearby visitor's center. And we'll always have Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
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