Two men charged over felling of iconic Sycamore Gap tree
Two men have been charged with cutting down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in northern England.
Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged with causing criminal damage to the tree and damaging Hadrian’s Wall, which was built by Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 to guard the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) added that they will appear in the Newcastle Magistrates Court on May 15.
“There has been an ongoing investigation since the Sycamore Gap tree was cut down," said Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney, the Senior Investigation Officer on the case.
“As a result of those inquiries, two men have now been charged.
“We recognise the strength of feeling in the local community and further afield the felling has caused, however we would remind people to avoid speculation, including online, which could impact the ongoing case.”
According to The Sun, the two men were arrested back in October and released on bail.
The iconic tree became internationally famous when it was used for a scene in Kevin Costner's 1991 blockbuster film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
The felling caused widespread outrage at the time, as police tried to find the culprit behind the "deliberate" act of vandalism.
Efforts are currently underway to see if the tree can be regrown from the sycamore's stump, with The National Trust hoping that a third of the seeds and cuttings it collected from the tree could be planted later on.
Image: Getty