Two men in their 30s were charged Tuesday over the felling last year of the 200-year-old Sycamore Gap tree, which stood in a hollow along Hadrian’s Wall in the north from England.
The mysterious felling of the beloved sycamore tree, which took place on a stormy September night, caused an outpouring of grief, anger and confusion at the absurdity of the act: why would anyone cut down one of Britain’s most iconic trees?
Two men, Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, from Cumbria, England, were charged with damaging both the tree and part of Hadrian’s Wall, a heritage site UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to Northumbria local police. Hadrian’s Wall, about 100 miles southeast of Edinburgh and near the border between England and Scotland, was built by the Roman army after Emperor Hadrian’s visit to Great Britain. Brittany in 122 AD.
“We recognize the strength of feeling in the local community and beyond over the fallout, but we remind people to avoid speculation, including online, that could impact the ongoing matter,” said the statement. said Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney, senior investigating officer. case, said in a statement Tuesday.
Mr Graham and Mr Carruthers are expected to appear in court on May 15, according to the Crown Prosecution Service, the attorney general for England and Wales. It was unclear which lawyers represented the two men.
Police arrested Mr Graham and Mr Carruthers in October in connection with the felling of the tree, and they were released on bail. Two other people were also arrested after the episode: a 16-year-old boy and a farmer in his 60s, although police later said they would face no further action.
Seven months after the felling of the tree, featured in the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” police have not said whether they have discovered a possible motivation for the crime. The felling of the tree took place in a sparsely populated area, at least a 20-minute walk from the nearest parking lot, which complicated the police investigation. The cut on the tree was clean and appeared to have been made with a large, sturdy chainsaw.
When deciding whether to pursue criminal charges, British police assess whether there is enough evidence to offer a realistic prospect of conviction and whether prosecution is in the public interest, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. In Britain, arrests can only be made if police have “reasonable grounds” to suspect involvement in a crime.
For those who mourned the loss of the tree, the National Trust, a conservation society, offered hopeful news in March: seeds and materials that had been collected from the Sycamore Gap tree after it was felled had started to germinate.
