Sycamore Gap tree suspect Adam Carruthers thought it might be ‘good trophy’, courtroom instructed | EUROtoday

One of two males on trial for chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree had a “fascination” with it and thought it might make a very good trophy, Newcastle Crown Court heard on Friday.

Adam Carruthers had a “strange interest” within the tree, prosecutor Richard Wright KC mentioned.

Mr Carruthers, 32, and Daniel Graham, 39, every deny two counts of felony injury to the Northumberland sycamore and to the close by Hadrian’s Wall, which was broken when it got here down in September 2023.

On the fourth day of their trial, Mr Graham mentioned his co-accused had spoken of wanting to chop down the tree beside the Roman wall, conserving a bit of string in his workshop to measure its circumference and ordering a chainsaw he mentioned was “big enough” for the job.

Mr Graham additionally instructed the courtroom his co-defendant rang him the morning after the tree was felled and claimed to be the particular person accountable.

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He claimed Mr Carruthers requested him to take the blame for the crime “because he had mental health issues” and can be handled extra leniently.

Prosecutors say Mr Carruthers, a mechanic, and Mr Graham, a groundworker, drove from Carlisle in a single day throughout Storm Agnes to the Northumberland landmark.

The courtroom had already heard the boys typically labored collectively and had expertise felling giant timber.

Richard Wright KC put it to Mr Graham that Mr Carruthers had “a fascination” with and a “strange interest” within the tree, saying: “He talked about it in the sense of it would be a good trophy.”

Graham replied: “I suppose so, yeah.” He mentioned he remembered Mr Carruthers ordering a giant bar chainsaw and saying it was sufficiently big to cowl the circumference of the Sycamore Gap tree.

He additionally mentioned his former good friend had talked about the tree in 2021. “He laid this string on the floor, put it in a big circle, that was the circumference of the Sycamore Gap tree,” Mr Graham instructed jurors.

“At the time I didn’t know of the tree… He told me it was the most famous tree in the world.”

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Mr Graham mentioned Mr Carruthers had used the string to measure the tree’s circumference.

He mentioned he first realised his Range Rover had been taken out that evening when he noticed it had been moved the following morning.

He mentioned it was common for him to depart his cellphone within the automobile in a single day as a result of he “liked to get away from his phone” after a day at work.

He instructed the jury different individuals may use his iPhone, together with individuals who labored for him who used it to connect with the web as a scorching spot.

Earlier, the courtroom heard that Mr Graham made an nameless name to the emergency providers’ 101 quantity, saying his former shut good friend was liable for the crime.

Mr Graham mentioned that they had been buddies for about three years however he turned on Mr Carruthers when the Sycamore Gap investigation began affecting his enterprise.

He instructed the courtroom: “My name is associated with my business and I started to have people phoning my business giving me abuse about the tree.”

The trial was adjourned till Tuesday.