One of the 2 males who was locked up for chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree ‘has already walked free from jail’

One of two former best friends who chopped down one of Britain’s most famous trees with a chainsaw in what was described as ‘mindless vandalism’ has already been freed from behind bars, it is understood. 

Last July, Adam Carruthers, 33, and Daniel Graham, from Carlisle, Cumbria, were sentenced to four years and three months after they felled the 19th-century Sycamore Gap Tree, which sat beside Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.  

The duo drove 40 minutes from Carlisle on September 27, 2023, in Graham’s Range Rover, which they dubbed the ‘Black Pig’ before they chopped down the famous tree in the darkness. 

The shameless vandals had even kept a part of the iconic tree’s trunk as a trophy and were ‘loving it’ as the news of the Sycamore Gap Tree’s destruction sparked headlines across the country. 

During a trial at Newcastle Crown Court,  it was heard that shortly after felling the tree, Carruthers told his partner, ‘I have a better video than that’, after being sent a video of his young child. 

On Graham’s phone was a two-minute, 41-second video, showing the silhouette of a man standing beside a large tree before the ‘unmistakable sound’ of a chainsaw could be heard. 

At the time, Mrs Justice Lambert, sentencing, told the duo they would serve 40 per cent of their sentence behind bars, with the remainder being served on licence within the community. 

When he was jailed, Carruthers had already spent two months in custody, with Graham already serving seven months behind bars before being sentenced to more than four years.  

Adam Carruthers, one of two men who chopped down one of Britain’s most famous trees with a chainsaw, has already been freed from prison

His accomplice Daniel Graham was also convicted of felling the Sycamore Gap tree following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court last year

The tree was made famous when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Now Carruthers has been released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme in March and must wear an electronic tag and stay at a registered home address, it is understood. 

The decision was taken by the governor of the prison where he was serving his sentence, following a risk assessment, ITV News reported. 

Speaking to the broadcaster at a Cumbria turf business where he used to work, he said he was happy to be out of prison. 

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Anyone released into Home Detention Curfew faces strict licence conditions and must be tagged. Those who break the rules can be returned to prison.’

It is understood that prisoners must have 12 months or less to serve before their conditional release to be eligible for the Home Detention Curfew Scheme and must be risk-assessed.

Former friends Graham and Carruthers were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the Northumberland landscape.

They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian’s Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument in September 2023.

The 150-year-old sycamore was felled in 2023 in an act which stunned the nation

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, pictured working together. The pair were formerly best friends who spoke on the telephone daily 

The sycamore was planted in the 1800s by wealthy lawyer and antiquarian John Clayton, who spent much of his life buying land around Hadrian’s Wall to preserve it.

Nestled in a dip in the Roman structure, it attracted visitors from around the globe and appeared in the 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.  

It was a place for picnics, marriage proposals and its image was used on souvenirs ranging from postcards to fridge magnets and prints sold to tourists across Northumberland.  

When it was mysteriously felled under the cover of darkness, there was a global outpouring of anger and confusion, prompting a furious response from then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, tearful visits from mourners and international headline news coverage from India to the United States.