The pair behind the Sycamore Gap felling have been made to answer for their crime in court.  Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, cut down the famous tree on Hadrian's Wall on September 27, 2023, after driving 30 miles through a storm. The hooligans have been found guilty of f two counts of criminal damage at Newcastle Crown Court.

Andrew Gurney, for Adam Carruthers, said his client had finally offered a motive for chopping down the tree. He said: "He has made admissions in his Pre-Sentence Report. He does wish to cleanse his conscience of what he has done. "People want to know 'Why? Why did you conduct this mindless act?' Unfortunately, it is no more than drunken stupidity.

"He felled that tree and it is something he will regret for the rest of his life. There's no better explanation than that." Mrs Justice Lambert said she will pass sentence from 2.15pm on Tuesday.

Mr Gurney pleaded for leniency in the sentencing for his client, pointing out he had a family and was actively involved in bringing up his children, aged six and two. He added it had been "torture" for him to be separated from his family while being in prison since May.

"It is his stupid actions that have caused him to be taken away from his family and his children," he said. The attorney added that Carruthers would have to carry the burden for his actions like a "form of personal penance."

Graham and Carruthers were each convicted in May of two counts of criminal damage - one for killing the tree, and the other for damaging the ancient wall.

The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage and news quickly spread beyond the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.

It wasn't Britain's biggest or oldest tree, but the sycamore was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At trial, the two men - once the best of friends who have fallen out since their arrests - testified they were at their respective homes on the night of the crime and downplayed their skills working with chainsaws.

But evidence shown to the jury implicated both of them in the crime. Graham's Range Rover was near the tree around the time it fell. Video of the felling was also found on his phone - with metadata showing that it was shot at the location of the tree.

As digital data showed Graham's vehicle on its way back to where the two lived about 40 minutes away, Carruthers got a text from his girlfriend with footage of their 12-day-old son. "I've got a better video than that," Carruthers replied.