Man accused of felling Sycamore Gap told police he was framed in feud

One of the men accused of felling the world famous Sycamore Gap tree told police he had been framed as part of a feud.

The tree had grown in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland for more than 100 years before it was felled in a "moronic mission" in the early hours of 28 September 2023, Newcastle Crown Court has heard.

Daniel Michael Graham, 39, from Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Wigton in Cumbria, each deny two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and the Roman Wall.

In their interviews with Northumbria Police, Mr Graham said he did not have the skill or expertise to fell a large tree while Mr Carruthers said he had no chainsaw training.

Jurors were previously told the tree was a much-loved landmark and had global significance for its position on the former frontier of the Roman empire.

On the night of 27 September, Mr Carruthers and Mr Graham made a 40-minute drive in the latter's Range Rover from Cumbria to chop the tree down, prosecutors allege.

The felling was filmed on Mr Graham's phone and the pair took a wedge cut of the trunk home as a "trophy", jurors have heard.

A video analyst said there was "no doubt" a car boot depicted in a picture of the wedge of wood and a chainsaw was that of Mr Graham's Range Rover, jurors heard.

The image was taken a couple of hours after the tree was felled and a forensic botanist said there was "very strong evidence" the wedge, which has not been recovered by police, had come from the Sycamore Gap tree, the court heard.

The pair were both arrested on 31 October and taken for police interview, the transcripts of which jurors were read on the third day of the trial.

Asked at the outset of his hour and 20 minute-long interview if he was responsible for felling the tree, Mr Graham replied: "No."

He said he had been to the tree before for walks and returned to the scene in the days after the felling out of "curiosity".

Mr Graham initially told officers he did not know who had cut it down but did know who had put his name forward as a suspect in Facebook posts, adding: "I'm going to get my own back."

Mr Graham said he and Mr Carruthers were embroiled in a dispute with others and it was their rivals who posted the accusations about the tree.

He said he was "proper raging" and "boiled" and the accusations would ruin his life and business, adding he was "going to deal" with those who put his name forward.

"I didn't touch that tree," he told police.

Mr Graham said there was nothing on his iPhone 13 which would link him to the felling, adding: "I've got no worries about anything on that phone, nothing at all."

When asked in a later interview about the video found on his phone, Mr Graham repeatedly replied "no comment", the court heard.

In among his refusals to answer questions, he did tell officers: "That might be my phone, that doesn't mean I was stood behind it."

After watching the video, Mr Graham also said: "From the sound, I guarantee whichever [chainsaw] you've got from mine, not one of them will sound like this."

He later told officers he did know who had cut down the tree but would not be a "grass" and ruin the lives of someone's kids, adding it was a "shock but not a surprise" the tree was felled and: "If I get the blame, I get the blame, I will deal with it."

Asked if he knew how to fell trees, Mr Graham said he could do small and medium ones and directed police to look at his Facebook page to see what work he had done.

"I've never done a large fell," he said, adding he had done "pretty high trees" but "nothing with major diameter".

Mr Graham was asked how he would cut down a large tree, to which he replied he would cut a notch in the front to mark the direction of fall then chop a wedge out the back, which jurors have heard is the "hinge-and-wedge" technique used to fell the sycamore.

He also said he left the keys in all his vehicles, including his Range Rover, and they were free for anyone to use.

In his interview, Mr Carruthers, who worked in property maintenance and as a mechanic, also said he was not responsible for felling the tree.

He said he had received no training in how to operate a chainsaw but had used them, adding they were "nasty things" and he would "stick with spanners".

Mr Carruthers said he would "have a go" at chopping down a tree if asked, but it would not be a "pretty job" and he could not recall ever cutting one down.

He also said he could not remember his movements at the time of the felling, as his partner had just had a child and he was "exhausted".

The trial continues.