Man who felled Sycamore Gap tree released early

One of the two men who chopped down the Sycamore Gap tree has been released early from prison.

Adam Carruthers, 33, - along with Daniel Graham, 39, - was sentenced to four years and three months in July last year for causing criminal damage to the famous tree besides Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.

Judge Mrs Justice Lambert told the pair they would serve 40% of the sentence behind bars, with the remainder being served on licence in the community.

But Carruthers, from Wigton in Cumbria, has now been released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme, the Ministry of Justice confirmed. The decision was taken by the governor of the jail where he was serving his sentence after a risk assessment.

In a statement, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said people released under the home curfew scheme "faces strict licence conditions and must be tagged".

"Those who break the rules can be returned to prison," it added.

Former friends Graham and Carruthers were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a dip in the Northumberland landscape.

They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian's Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on it in September 2023.

During their trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard the two engaged in a "moronic mission" to cut down the landmark, travelling for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria and carrying their equipment across pitch-black moorland during a storm.

They took a wedge, which has never been recovered, from the tree as a trophy and revelled in the media coverage as news of the vandalism caused national and international outrage.

Mrs Justice Lambert was sure Carruthers cut the tree down while Graham drove him there and filmed it on his phone.

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