Second man who felled Sycamore Gap tree released

The second of two men who chopped down the Sycamore Gap tree has been released from prison.

Daniel Graham, 41, from Cumbria, was sentenced to four years and three months for causing criminal damage to the famous tree beside Hadrian's Wall, in Northumberland, when he was jailed last July last year alongside Adam Carruthers.

Carruthers was released in April and now Graham has also been freed on licence after serving 16 months, plus the time he served on remand.

At sentencing, judge Mrs Justice Lambert told the pair they would serve 40% of the sentence behind bars, with the remainder being served on licence in the community.

Former friends Graham and Carruthers were convicted of criminal damage to the tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the Northumberland landscape.

Its destruction took less than three minutes.

They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian's Wall, caused when the sycamore fell in September 2023.

During their trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard the two engaged in a "moronic mission" to cut down the landmark, travelling more than 40 minutes from their homes, then carrying their equipment across pitch-black moorland during a storm.

They took a wedge from the tree as a trophy which has never been recovered, and revelled in the media coverage as news of the vandalism caused national and international headlines.

Mrs Justice Lambert was sure Carruthers cut the tree down while Graham drove him there and filmed it on his phone.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The felling of the Sycamore Gap tree was a disgraceful crime.

"Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions and can be returned to prison immediately if they breach them."

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