Friends disunited: The 'odd couple' who fell out after crime

WHEN Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers made their initial court appearance in May 2024, their identities concealed, intrigue shrouded the duo accused of felling “the world’s most famous tree” at Sycamore Gap.

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The trial revealed them to be “reasonably isolated figures” and an “odd couple” who were inseparable.

At the time the sycamore met its end, they were “best of pals”, residing 12 miles apart in Cumbria, meeting up to four times a week, conversing daily over the phone, and frequently collaborating on tree-felling tasks.

The court was informed that in the year since their first court appearance, marked by their joint entrance donning balaclavas, the pair’s once tight-knit friendship had disintegrated. Graham pointed the finger at Carruthers for the demise of the famed sycamore and the subsequent downfall of his business.

DANIEL GRAHAM

Newcastle Crown Court was told that Graham, 39, lived and worked at Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, where he ran a groundwork company named D M Graham Groundworks.

Evidence presented in court indicated that Graham occasionally felled trees as part of his business operations and possessed three or four chainsaws.