Video footage allegedly showing the moment the famous Sycamore Gap tree was chopped down has been played to a jury.
Groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, each deny two counts of criminal damage to the tree and the wall, overnight on 28 September 2023.
They are accused of driving from Carlisle to the Sycamore Gap, where prosecutors say one used a chainsaw to fell the tree, while the other filmed the act on a mobile phone.
On the second day of the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, jurors were shown a video lasting 2mins 41secs, taken from Mr Graham’s iPhone, that allegedly showed the sycamore being chopped down.
The grainy footage appeared to show the outline of a figure working at the trunk of the tree, before it crashed to the ground.
Police analyst Amy Sutherland told the court that the coordinates for where the video was filmed were for Sycamore Gap. Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the video was taken at 12.31am on 28 September.
Mr Wright had told jurors: “In simple terms, Graham’s phone was right there at Sycamore Gap as the tree was being cut down, and his phone filmed the tree being cut down.
“The prosecution say whoever filmed the cutting down was as much responsible for the damage to the wall and the tree as the man wielding the chainsaw. They were in it together, and they were Carruthers and Graham.”
The prosecutor said he understood Mr Graham’s defence was that his car and his phone must have been used without his knowledge to make the journey and record the felling. Mr Carruthers also denied having anything to do with the tree being cut down, Mr Wright said.
Also on Wednesday, jurors heard that Mr Graham’s phone contained numerous Google searches for an earlier suspect in the Sycamore Gap investigation who was later released with no action.
Ms Sutherland said that between 3 October and 5 October searches were made on Mr Graham’s phone for “Water Renwick” and “Walter Renwick Plankey Mill”. Mr Renwick was arrested on 29 September 2023 but was later told he would face no action.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court also heard from an expert at Historic England on the impact on Hadrian’s Wall. The damage caused when the tree was felled was valued at £622,191 for the tree and £1,144 to the wall, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Historic England's Lee McFarlane told the jury the felling could have been “catastrophic” for the wall.
She said while some stones of the wall were damaged, it was fortunate the tree was still in full leaf, as the crown of the tree appeared to have acted as a “cushion”.
The court also heard a statement from the first police officer at the scene, PC Peter Borini, who arrived on he morning of 28 September. In a statement to the court, he said rangers were “visibly upset” at what they saw.
He cordoned off the scene and took sawdust and bark samples, but could not find a wedge from the trunk that was removed in the felling process. The prosecution suggests this could have been taken by Mr Graham, who is from Carlisle, and Mr Carruthers, who is from Wigton in Cumbria, as a trophy.
The trial continues.
