Graham also denied causing £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall
London:
A 38-year-old man on Wednesday denied criminal damage after one of the UK’s most loved and photographed trees was found felled next to Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Daniel Graham has pleaded not guilty to causing £622,191 ($786,657) worth of damage to the sycamore tree at Sycamore Gap, which has stood for more than 200 years in Northumberland National Park.
The tree, located in a dramatic depression in the landscape and which featured in the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, was found felled in September last year, causing national outrage.
Graham also denied causing £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, the ancient Roman fortification that stretches 70 miles from northwest to northeast England.
He appeared before a court in Newcastle upon Tyne with Adam Carruthers, 31, who pleaded no contest to the same charges. Both wore balaclavas to hide their identities as they arrived and left court.
Both were released on unconditional bail until a further hearing on June 12.
The tree, which was a symbol of the north east of England, won the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year award in 2016 and has been a key attraction photographed by millions of visitors over the years.
It was found lying after storms, with white paint marks on the stump, as if it had been cut cleanly, AFP reporters present at the scene said at the time.
Efforts are now underway to see whether the tree can regrow from its stump or seedlings from its seeds.
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