CUTTING down the beloved Sycamore Gap tree was the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery”;, a jury has heard.
And the two former pals accused of doing it “weren’t the big men they thought they were”; , it was said.
Prosecutors said ground worker Daniel Graham, 39, and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, had caused “sadness and anger”; across the world by .
They both deny driving from Carlisle during Storm Agnes in September 2023 .
In his closing speech yesterday, Richard Wright KC reminded jurors that Carruthers said during his evidence it was “just a tree”; and the reaction was “as if somebody had been murdered”;.
He added: “Perhaps that sentiment, that lack of appreciation, actually explains a great deal about these two defendants and about why . . . neither of them is willing to own up to what they have done.”;
He said the two men were “in it together from first to last”;, adding: “Owning up to this arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery would make them public enemy No1.
“Neither of them has got the courage to do that.”;
The trial continues at crown court.
The sycamore tree was used as starring Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman.
