One man convicted of illegally felling the cherished Sycamore Gap tree has today claimed he acted out of ‘drunken stupidity’ as both defendants insist they never meant to chop it down.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers have both admitted their involvement in the felling after they drove through a storm for 40 minutes in the middle of the night from their homes in Cumbria to the Northumberland landmark.
One of them filmed the act, although precisely who did what, and why, has never been explained, with the prosecution case claiming that each encouraged the other.
The pair will be sentenced this afternoon following their convictions for criminal damage earlier this year and have been warned they could face lengthy prison sentences.
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