Two men accused of illegally chopping down the famous tree at Sycamore Gap in Northumberland are on trial - we're reporting live from court
The tree, which was owned by the National Trust, was discovered lying across Hadrian's Wall in September 2023
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, are charged with causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the tree
They are also accused of causing £1,144 of damage to the wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site
In court on Tuesday, the prosecution accused the men of a "moronic mission" to commit "mindless vandalism", saying a missing wedge of the tree was kept as a "trophy"
Mr Graham and Mr Carruthers each deny two counts of criminal damage. The trial at Newcastle Crown Court is expected to last 10 days
Fiona Trott
Reporting from Newcastle Crown Court
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC has now been addressing the jury for more than an hour.
In the dock, Daniel Graham is looking at Mr Wright and the judge as he follows proceedings.
Adam Carruthers has his head down.
Data from Mr Graham's phone shows it was moving towards Sycamore Gap on the night of 27 September, Mr Wright says.
So-called cell site analysis shows Mr Graham's phone moving along the A689 towards the tree at about 23:30, with the final ping coming at 23:41 at Brampton, about 11 miles (18km) west of Sycamore Gap.
"Mr Graham's telephone was deliberately disconnected from the network at that time, " Mr Wright says, adding the prosecution say Mr Graham was the man in possession of the phone.
The phone reconnected to the network about two hours later at 01:28, the court hears.
Data from the men's phones shows they were together that night, the court hears.
The last phone contact between the two men was a one minute and 18 second phone call at 22:23 on 27 September, with the lack of further messages and calls strongly suggesting the pair were then together for the rest of the night, Mr Wright says.
"You don't need to phone somebody who are you with," the prosecutor says.
Messages between Mr Carruthers and his partner showed he was not at home that night, the court hears.
Image source, PA MediaThis a reminder of where we are and what's been going on.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC is giving his opening speech to jurors in courtroom one at Newcastle Crown Court, he has been talking for about 45 minutes.
He is just outlining the case at the moment with the fuller explanation and investigation of witnesses and evidence to come over the following days.
So far he has said the two accused, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, travelled from Cumbria on the night of 27 September to carry out a "moronic mission" to fell the iconic tree, causing irreparable damage to the sycamore and breaking stones on the Roman wall.
The "mindless" vandalism was filmed on Mr Graham's phone, a chunk of wood believed to be the wedge cut out of the tree was carted away in the back of his Range Rover and the whole operation took just minutes to carry out, Mr Wright has said.
In the aftermath, the pair shared multiple news and social media posts about the felling and appeared to be "revelling" in the attack, the court has heard.
Chainsaws were found at both of the accused's homes when police arrested them in October and November 2023, the prosecutor says.
But the prosecution "do not and cannot" say any of those were used on the Sycamore Gap tree, Mr Wright says, adding they actually believe the tool used on Hadrian's Wall had been "hidden away" and "simply has not been found".
Photographs previously taken at Mr Carruthers's workshop showed he had a so-called long-bar chainsaw, a powerful tool with a long blade, while there were also pictures of him handling owls, Mr Wright says.
"These are men with the knowledge, skills, equipment and wherewithal to carry out exactly this operation," the prosecutor says, adding they were good friends at the time and regularly in each other's company.
The two accused, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, knew how to chop down large trees, Mr Wright says.
On 17 August 2023, about a month before the Sycamore gap tree was felled, there was a video filmed of the two men working together to bring down a large tree, the court hears.
"These are men in the business of cutting down trees," Mr Wright says.
Image source, PA MediaThe National Trust said it had not given anyone permission to fell the tree, Mr Wright said
The National Trust, which owned the tree and wall, had "unsurprisingly" not given anyone permission to fell the sycamore, Mr Wright says.
He also says no-one had permission to damage the Roman wall, which had some stones fractured and cracked by the falling timber.
The Prosecutor says more damage to the wall was "fortunately", through "luck not judgement", averted because the canopy of the fallen tree bore the brunt of its weight.
"It is not in dispute there were acts of criminal damage," Mr Wright says, adding the issue for jurors is "who did it?".
The wedge cut out of the tree by those felling it was never found, Mr Wright says.
The prosecutor says it was taken away in Mr Graham's Range Rover as "some sort of trophy or reminder of this senseless act".
Ian Everard, a forester for the Forestry Commission with 36 years experience, was also at the scene and confirmed the marking of the tree and cutting of the wedge were part of a "recognised tree felling technique", the court hears.
A notch is cut into the "falling" direction with another cut made directly opposite to act as a hinge, jurors hear.
"That allows the person felling the tree to control and predict the direction in which the tree is going to fall," Mr Wright says.
He tells jurors the technique is "relevant" as it "shows the tree was felled by somebody who had the knowledge and skill of how to fell a tree".
Mr Wright says it also means whoever cut the tree down would have known it would most likely fall on to the Roman wall.
Image source, Alice Whysall-PriceHolidaymaker Alice Whysall-Price took a picture of the Sycamore Gap tree while out on a walk at about 17:20 on Wednesday 27 September 2023, jurors hear.
"So we know at [that time] the tree was still standing," Mr Wright says.
At 09:46 the following day, the felled tree was reported to police who swiftly went to the scene to join a growing crowd of people, the prosecutor says.
The first officer noticed silver spray paint on the tree and a wedge had been cut for it, although he could not find the missing chunk at the scene, the court hears.
Having given a brief outline of the case to jurors, the prosecutor Richard Wright KC is now introducing the main players in the court case.
Daniel Graham is being represented by Christopher Knox and Adam Carruthers by Andrew Gurney.
Mr Graham is 39 years old, runs a groundworks company called DM Graham Groundworks and lives in the countryside near Carlisle, jurors are told.
Mr Carruthers is 32, works in property maintenance and mechanics and lives near Wigton in Cumbria, Mr Wright says.
The pair were "very good friends" who "spent a lot of time" in each other's company at the time of the felling, the prosecutor says, adding jurors could be "sure" they brought down the tree.
When news of the felling broke the following day, the two accused shared multiple news and social media posts about it, Mr Wright says.
At one point Mr Graham said to Mr Carruthers "here we go", with their discussions the "clearest indication" they were responsible, the prosecutor says.
One comment on a Facebook post summed up the public outrage by saying "some weak people that walk this earth, disgusting behaviour", the court hears.
Two minutes later Mr Graham sent his co-accused a voice note saying: "Weak? Does he realise how heavy [stuff] is?"
Mr Carruthers responded saying he would like to see the commenter "launch an operation like we did last night", adding: "I don't think he's got the minerals."
Mr Wright says that message was the "clearest confirmation in their own voices" the two men were responsible.
Image source, PA MediaThe Sycamore Gap tree was found felled in September 2023
The tree had taken more than a century to grow but its irreparable damage took just minutes to carry out, Mr Wright says.
After the vandals completed their "moronic mission", they returned to Carlisle with the video being sent from Mr Graham's phone to Mr Carruthers's mobile, the prosecutor says.
"The only people in the world who knew the tree had been cut down were the men who [felled it]," he says, adding they were also the only people in the world to have any footage of it.
At about 02:00 BST that night, pictures and videos were taken on Mr Graham's phone of a chunk of wood in the back of his Range Rover next to a chainsaw, the court hears.
A forensic botanist would later say there was "very strong evidence" it was the wedge that had been cut out of the sycamore tree, jurors hear.
"This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in," Mr Wright says.
Mr Wright tells jurors Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were responsible for the "mindless vandalism".
He says the pair travelled to the remote scene from the Carlisle area in Mr Graham's Range Rover late on 27 September and used a chainsaw to cut the tree down.
"They parked, walked to the tree and then used a chainsaw to deliberately fell it," Mr Wright says.
Their method showed "expertise and a determined approach", the prosecutor says, including the marking out of the cut with silver spray paint and the cutting of a wedge out of the trunk so the tree would fall on to the wall.
While one did the cutting, the other filmed it on Mr Graham's phone, jurors are told.
Courtroom one is now full and Richard Wright KC has taken to his feet to open the case for the prosecution.
He says the tree had stood for more than a century and the wall around it is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
It was a famous tree that, over many years, had been photographed and depicted "countless times" he says, adding it was held in "high affection" by many people.
By sunrise on Thursday 28 September 2023, it had been "deliberately felled" with a chainsaw in an act of "mindless criminal damage", causing irreparable damage to the tree itself and further harm to the Roman wall the trunk had fallen on to.
Fiona Trott
Reporting from Newcastle Crown Court
The jury have now arrived.
Both the press bench and the public gallery are packed.
Daniel Graham is sitting in the dock wearing a white shirt.
Adam Carruthers is sitting a few metres away wearing a suit and tie.
On Monday, Mrs Justice Lambert (pictured above at another case) gave a brief outline of the trial to the initial batch of 25 jurors before they were whittled down by random ballot to the final 12.
She said the case concerned "allegations of criminal damage", in particular the "felling by a chainsaw of a sycamore tree situated at Hadrian's Wall that is commonly known as Sycamore Gap" which also caused damage to the "Roman wall".
The judge said jurors would no doubt have heard about the case but, when they were selected, they would swear a "solemn" oath to only try it based on the evidence they saw and heard in "the four walls" of the courtroom and nothing else.
She also said they would have to "put any emotion to one side" and reach verdicts "dispassionately" which may not be easy or "desirable" but was what they "must do".
Ahead of their selection, the jurors had to answer three questions:
Erica Witherington
Reporting from Newcastle Crown Court
Journalists have been queuing outside Newcastle Crown Court since early in the morning
We're waiting for things to get under way here at Newcastle Crown Court.
Journalists have been queuing since early in the morning for one of the limited seats in court one.
The interest in this case is immense.
In just a few minutes we're expecting the prosecution to start setting out their case against the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree.
We'll bring you all the details here.
Daniel Michael Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, are accused of damaging the tree and Hadrian's Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site, which was hit by the falling timber.
Mr Graham, from Carlisle, and Mr Carruthers, of Wigton, Cumbria, have each denied two counts of criminal damage.
The trial is estimated to last 10 days and is being presided over by Mrs Justice Lambert, a high court judge, in courtroom one at Newcastle Crown Court.
Image source, The National TrustGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Sycamore Gap trial.
The famous sycamore tree had been planted in a dip along Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland sometime between 1860 and 1890 and became a major tourist attraction over the following century and a half.
The tree, which also appeared in films such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was felled overnight on 27 September 2023 sparking international outrage.
The trial of two men accused of illegally chopping it down is beginning at Newcastle Crown Court imminently.