One of two men on trial for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree told a court his co-defendant had wanted to cut down the “most famous tree in the world”.
Daniel Graham, 39, said Adam Carruthers, 32, rang him the morning after to claim responsibility for felling the tree beside Hadrian’s Wall.
He said Carruthers had asked him to take the blame “because he had mental health issues”, believing he would be treated more leniently.
The prosecution allege that Graham and Carruthers drove from Carlisle to the Northumberland landmark in September 2023 during Storm Agnes.
Both men deny two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to the Roman Wall.
On the fourth day of the trial, Graham was asked about a call Carruthers made to him on the morning of 28 September 2023.
“It was Adam claiming he had cut down the Sycamore Gap tree, claiming that it was him that cut it down,” he said.
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“I told him he was talking shite, I didn’t believe it.”
While Graham said his former friend had spoken of wanting to cut down the tree in the past, he “didn’t take it seriously”.
“At the time I didn’t know of the tree … He told me it was the most famous tree in the world.”
He told Newcastle Crown Court that he remembered Carruthers ordering a chainsaw and saying it was big enough to cover the Sycamore Gap’s circumference.
Defence barrister Chris Knox said two people had been involved on the night in question, one feling the tree and the other filming.
But while Graham said that Carruthers felled the tree, he “[didn’t] know 100% who the other person was”.
Speaking from the witness box, Graham said he was not the one using his Range Rover or mobile phone on the night the tree was cut down, which were both traced to the tree’s location.
At the time, the pair were the “best of pals”, according to Graham.
When questioned by Mr Knox on whether Carruthers had asked to borrow his Range Rover, he added: “Adam wouldn’t need to ask to borrow anything of mine. He was welcome to it.”
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Jurors have been told that an anonymous call was made to the emergency services on 23 August last year, by a man believed to be Graham, in which Carruthers was named as being responsible for felling the Sycamore Gap.
The trial continues.
