The two men who cut down the Sycamore Gap tree have each been sentenced to four years and three months in jail.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of criminal damage to the beloved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years.
They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian’s Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument.
The pair took just three minutes to fell the famous tree.
Andrew Gurney, defending 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."
Chris Knox, defending Daniel Graham, said: "He is a troubled man who has had very real difficulties in his life, which have not all been of his own making."
During her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Lambert said she could now be sure that Adam Carruthers cut the Sycamore Gap tree down while Daniel Graham filmed him, after admissions they had both made in pre-sentence reports.
She told the defendants: "At the trial in May neither of you accepted any involvement.
"In recent interviews with the Probation Service, although seeking to minimise your culpability, you admitted being present and involved.
"I can now be sure you, Adam Carruthers, were the person who felled the tree and you, Daniel Graham, assisted and encouraged him by driving there and back and not least by filming it on your phone."
Although Graham and Carruthers were once close, they have fallen out since the crime and blamed each other during the trial.
The tree was a symbol of Northumberland and featured in the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Graham’s Range Rover was picked up on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras between Carlisle and Sycamore Gap at night on September 27 2023 and early the next morning. His mobile was traced to phone masts making the same journey.
When police arrested the pair and searched Graham’s phone, they found a two-minute and 41-second video, which showed the sycamore being cut down at 12.30am on September 28, and had been sent to Carruthers.
Messages and voice notes between Graham and Carruthers the next day showed them talking about the story going “wild” and “viral”.
At trial, Graham claimed Carruthers had a fascination with the sycamore, saying he had described it as “the most famous tree in the world” and spoken of wanting to cut it down, even keeping a piece of string in his workshop that he had used to measure its circumference.
Carruthers denied this and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was “just a tree”.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court there was “a high degree of planning and sophistication”.
He told the court: "This was an expedition which required significant planning in terms of taking a vehicle, driving for about 40 minutes to a car park, taking with them appropriate specialist equipment, carrying the equipment for about 20 minutes' walk in each direction.
"The felling was carried out in a deliberate, professional way."
Mr Wright said the prosecution allege that the night was selected because of the weather, and Daniel Graham had said during the trial it was easier to fell a tree in high winds.
Andrew Poad, a National Trust manager, gave a victim impact statement which was read out by Rebecca Brown, prosecution junior counsel.
He said: "This iconic tree can never be replaced. Whilst the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belonged to the people. It was totemic.
"An overwhelming sense of loss and confusion was felt across the world. The question was why anyone would do this to such a beautiful tree in such a special place.
"It was beyond comprehension."
Mr Poad added that the cost of removing the tree was £30,000, with £20,000 to be spent on the site in 2025, all paid for from charitable funds.
He said an email address set up within days of the felling for people to share thoughts received 600 responses in a month.
