Sycamore Gap trial reside: Daniel Graham ended friendship as a result of Adam Carruthers ‘grassed him up’, jury informed | EUROtoday
A suspect within the chopping down of the well-known Sycamore Gap tree ended his shut friendship with the co-accused after accusing him of “grassing on me”, a jury heard.
Adam Carruthers, 32, and Daniel Graham, 39, each deny legal injury to the sycamore tree – and Hadrian’s Wall which it struck – on the night time of 27 September, 2023.
They are accused of driving from Cumbria to the positioning in Graham’s Range Rover earlier than one used a chainsaw to chop down the tree, and the opposite filmed the act.
The prosecution has informed the jury at Newcastle Crown Court that the pair’s as soon as shut bond unravelled because the “public revulsion [over the chopping down of the tree] became clear to them”.
Yesterday, Carruthers was requested why his friendship with Graham ended. He informed the jury that Graham got here to see him at work one night time and informed him: “I’m going to go my way and you’re going to go yours – I believe you have been grassing on me.”
Andrew Gurney, defending Carruthers, requested if he had “grassed him up”, and the defendant stated he had not.
Carruthers, of Wigton, and Graham, of Carlisle, have stated they’d nothing to do with the reducing down of the tree, which was famously positioned for 150 years in a sloping hole of Hadrian’s Wall.
Defendant says he was at residence the night time the tree was felled
As we’ve heard from the prosecution, each Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham are accused of driving from Cumbria to the Sycamore Gap tree, the place one is claimed to have minimize down the tree, whereas the opposite filmed it.
Both deny the accusations.
Yesterday, Carruthers was requested the place he was on the night time the Sycamore Gap tree got here down, on the night time of 27 September, 2023.
The 32-year-old stated that in the course of the month he was staying together with his companion of 10 years in Kirkbride, Cumbria, as a result of she had simply given start to their daughter by Caesarean part and wanted assist taking care of their two kids.
He informed jurors he was at residence together with his companion on the night time the tree was felled.
Alex Ross7 May 2025 09:39
Defendant tells jury how pair’s shut friendship ended
As we’ve reported beforehand, suspect Daniel Graham informed the courtroom that his friendship with the co-accused Adam Carruthers tightened whereas the pair fastened his late father’s jeep.
Carruthers informed the jury that he had labored with Graham on initiatives, together with to “tarmac a drive” and “trim some trees”.
But following the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, Carruthers informed the jury their friendship ended when Graham turned up at his office, accusing him of “grassing him up”.
Andrew Gurney, defending, requested if Carruthers had “grassed him up” and the defendant stated he had not.

Alex Ross7 May 2025 09:13
Why is the Sycamore Gap tree so well-known?
Situated in a sloping hole of the Hadrian’s Wall, close to the village of Once Brewed, the Sycamore Gap tree grew to become one of the well-known locations in England over the previous few many years.
The tree, planted 150 years in the past, has all the time been an icon for folks within the area, with many having used the positioning to mark birthdays, do marriage proposals and scatter ashes.
But it was in 1991 when the Sycamore Gap achieved worldwide fame, showing within the Hollywood movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which starred Kevin Costner. As vacationers from as distant because the US flocked to see the tree, locals began calling it the “Kevin Costner tree”.
The tree’s fame was additional helped because of the appearance of social media, with pictures of the solitary tree beamed around the globe on folks’s telephones and computer systems.

Alex Ross7 May 2025 09:07
Defendant could not perceive the outcry over the tree’s destruction
Yesterday, whereas giving proof in fifth day of the trial, defendant Adam Carruthers stated he couldn’t perceive the large outcry after it was felled, telling a courtroom it was “just a tree”.
He is accused of chopping down the tree alongside together with his co-accused Daniel Graham. Both deny the cost.
When requested in courtroom why he had confirmed a lot curiosity within the story of the tree being chopped down, he stated: “On the morning I woke up I had looked online and it was all over Facebook. I was thinking ‘What’s going on here?’. It was everywhere.
“My understanding was it was just a tree, I couldn’t understand why everyone was sharing it, every second post, it was about this tree. I just couldn’t get my head round it.
“The way it was travelling through the news, I was amazed how something so small could create so much publicity.”
Earlier within the trial, the prosecution claimed each defendants had been “revelling” within the media protection of the tree being chopped down.

Alex Ross7 May 2025 09:05
Day 6 of Sycamore Gap trial – what to anticipate immediately
Ground employee Daniel Graham, 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, are each charged with two counts of legal injury to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was broken when the tree fell on it.
So far, the jury at Newcastle Crown Court has heard proof put ahead by the prosecution, in addition to from each defendants who took the witness stand.
Today, we’re anticipating closing speeches to start out from the prosecution and the defendants’ representatives, earlier than the jury is distributed out to think about its verdict within the case.

Alex Ross7 May 2025 09:01
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sycamore-gap-tree-trial-why-graham-carruthers-live-updates-b2746231.html