Sycamore Gap tree damage valued at more than £620,000, charges show

Two men face Newcastle magistrates on Wednesday charged with criminal damage.

The felled tree at Sycamore Gap beside Hadrian’s Wall (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Archive)

The criminal damage caused by felling the famous Sycamore Gap tree has been valued at more than £620,000, according to court charges.

Daniel Graham, 38, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 31, face Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with two counts of criminal damage.

The much-photographed tree, which stood next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for 200 years, was chopped down in September last year, causing a national outrage.

The pair are charged with criminal damage to property of a value over £5,000, namely “without lawful excuse, damaged a sycamore tree to the value of £622,191 belonging to the National Trust”.

They face a second charge of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000, namely Hadrian’s Wall, with the damage assessed to the Unesco World Heritage Site as being £1,144.

Both offences were alleged to have been committed on September 28 last year.

Northumbria Police made a number of arrests after the tree was felled and a teenager and man in his 60s were later both told they will face no further action.

The National Trust, which owns the land on which the tree stood, previously said it was hopeful the sycamore will live on after scientists found salvaged seeds and cuttings are showing positive signs of being viable for new growth.