During the first episode of a Mail exclusive podcast covering the trial concerning the alleged perpetrators of the famous Sycamore Gap tree incident, journalists Liz Hull and George Odling disclosed the newest piece of evidence that brought a hush over the courtroom.
Groundworker Daniel Graham, aged 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, aged 32, are charged with two counts of criminal damage following the felling of the century-old tree using a chainsaw, causing it to crash into Hadrian’s Wall on the evening of September 28, 2023.
Both Graham and Carruthers have pleaded not guilty to the accusations. Jurors were presented with footage from the fateful night, and renowned crime journalist Liz Hull, on the award-winning podcast, explained why the blurry video left those present at Newcastle Crown Court in disbelief.
The two-minute and 41-second video, taken from Graham’s phone, appears to show the moment the tree was felled. The prosecution asked police to digitally enhance the clip as it was originally too dark to see, recorded during the night.
The Sycamore Gap tree was well-known and featured in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Police officers look at the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall on September 28, 2023
‘You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom when that video was first played’, Hull described.
Her ‘The Trial’ co-host, George Odling, responded: ‘A lot of us in court watched the video with open mouths.
‘The video, which was taken from that mobile phone footage, is grainy, but it’s very shocking.
‘The court was told the footage was originally very dark, but video specialists had managed to enhance it so that you can make out the outline of the enormous tree and the silhouette of a man standing next to it.’
Prosecutors claim the ‘unmistakable sound of a chainsaw’ can be heard in the video.
A court artist’s sketch of Daniel Graham (left) and Adam Carruthers (right) at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on February 15, 2024
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The video clip was played to the court twice – once showing the dark, raw footage, and a second time after it had been enhanced by a police specialist.
Odling then explained the importance of the footage to the trial.
He said: ‘The prosecution said analysis of Daniel Graham’s iPhone 13 showed that the video was recorded on his phone, not sent to him, or downloaded from the internet, at exactly 32 minutes past midnight on September the 28th.
‘No less than three minutes later, a photograph was also taken on the same phone, which, although dark, appears to show the felled tree.
‘Metadata for the video and the photo was analysed by police and found to be a match for the location of the Sycamore Gap.’
The friends allegedly felled the tree in a matter of minutes having driven 40 minutes from Carlisle to the tree in the late hours of September 27 2023 in Graham’s Range Rover.
The damage caused by the tree’s felling was valued at £622,191 for the tree and £1,144 for the wall, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Richard Wright KC told the jury that the accused had engaged in a ‘moronic mission’ to commit an act of ‘mindless vandalism’.
The trial continues.
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