00:00Men who cut down a 150-year-old tree found guilty and will face severe sentence.
00:07A jury found Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, guilty on May 9, 2025, for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree.
00:18This 150-year-old landmark, beside Hadrian's Wall, was destroyed in September 2023, shocking the nation.
00:25The Sycamore Gap tree, self-seeded in the mid-1800s, thrived for 150 to 200 years by Hadrian's Wall, a 1,900-year-old UNESCO site.
00:38Named English Tree of the Year in 2016, it appeared in Kevin Costner's 1991 film, becoming a sacred site for proposals and family gatherings.
00:48On a stormy night in September 2023, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, former friends, drove 30 miles from Cumbria to destroy a cherished natural landmark.
01:00They felled the 150-year-old tree with a chainsaw, damaging Hadrian's Wall.
01:06They recorded the act and took a section home as a trophy.
01:09Modern technology and the men's pride exposed their crime.
01:12Police used digital evidence to prove their guilt after an 18-month investigation.
01:18They found a video on Graham's phone showing the tree's destruction.
01:22Cell phone data and vehicle tracking confirmed their presence at Sycamore Gap during the incident.
01:28Once friends, Graham and Carruthers faced court as adversaries, denying involvement in the tree's destruction.
01:34Graham accused Carruthers, admitting his Range Rover and phone were at the scene.
01:38Carruthers dismissed the public's anger, equating it to a murder case, strengthening the prosecution's argument.
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