Two men accused of illegally chopping down the famous tree at Sycamore Gap in Northumberland are on trial - we're reporting live from court
The tree, which was owned by the National Trust, was discovered lying across Hadrian's Wall in September 2023
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, are charged with causing £622,191 worth of criminal damage to the tree
They are also accused of causing £1,144 of damage to the wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site
In court on Tuesday, the prosecution accused the men of a "moronic mission" to commit "mindless vandalism", saying a missing wedge of the tree was kept as a "trophy"
Mr Graham and Mr Carruthers each deny two counts of criminal damage. The trial at Newcastle Crown Court is expected to last 10 days
The trial has finished for the day and the jury has been sent home and so our updates from the trial have been paused.
You can read a summary of what has happened so far on this page and also in the story here.
The second day of the trial will start at 10:30 BST on Wednesday.
Image source, PA MediaThe tree was illegally felled overnight on 27 September 2023, irreparably damaging the tree, prosecutors said
The trial is due to last for 10 days and, when it resumes tomorrow morning, will move on to the presentation and interrogation of evidence.
Although the jury has been shown videos and photographs and heard voice notes, they have not actually been presented with any evidence yet and will be shown all those materials again with deeper explanations and context given.
Just to recap what has happened so far, prosecutor Richard Wright KC has opened the case over the course of about two and half hours (with a short comfort break).
He said the tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall had stood for more than a century and many people from across the world held it in "high affection".
Overnight on 27 September 2023 it was illegally felled, irreparably damaging the tree itself and also fracturing stones on the Roman wall.
The "moronic mission" took just minutes to complete with a wedge cut of out of the trunk as part of the felling taken away as a "trophy".
The prosecution say Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both experienced tree fellers, are responsible, but they deny their involvement.
Footage appearing to show the moment of the felling was recorded on Mr Graham's phone while his Range Rover and mobile were also detected travelling to and from the remote site.
In the aftermath and as the world reacted with shock, the pair shared multiple messages discussing the reaction in which they appeared to be "revelling" in what they had done and the outrage it had sparked.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC has now ended his opening to jurors.
The trial is pausing for the rest of the day and will resume tomorrow morning.
Both men would be blaming each other or other people, Mr Wright says.
He said despite initially talking about their "operation" and saying other people did not have the "minerals" to do what they had done, the pair now were "lacking in courage" to admit their actions.
"Their once close friendship appears to have unravelled, perhaps as the public revulsion at their behaviour became clear to them," Mr Wright told jurors.
The prosecution cannot prove who actually cut the tree down and who filmed it, Mr Wright says.
But, he adds, that does not matter.
"Any person who either wielded the chainsaw or intentionally assisted or encouraged the other person to do so is just as guilty as a matter of law, because they were in it together from first to last."
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were first arrested on 31 October 2023, just over a month after the tree was felled, the court hears.
In their interviews, both denied they were responsible for felling the tree, Mr Wright says.
Mr Graham accepted the Range Rover was his but said it was open to anyone else to use, while the phone was his and other people could use it while he was at work.
He also claimed he was "not trained to fell large trees" but was able to explain to officers how he would use a wedge technique, Mr Wright says.
Mr Carruthers also denied knowing how to fell a tree and said he would "have a go if asked", Mr Wright says, despite a video in August 2023 showing the two men chopping down a tree.
In the days after the felling, Mr Graham was searching for Youtube videos about the tree.
He also made searches for the name of another man who, at an early stage in the investigation, had been arrested.
Mr Wright says the man and a 16-year-old boy were initially arrested by police and Mr Graham was obviously taking an interest in the investigation.
The jury has now been played voice notes between the defendants.
In one, Mr Carruthers talked about it appearing on BBC, ITV and Sky news and saying: "I think it's going to go wild."
Mr Graham's replied it has "gone viral" and was "worldwide".
Mr Wright says: "This is not just two interested members of the public discussing the news.
"This is more than mere discussion, this is excitement at the fact it's gone worldwide it's gone viral, its being talked about all over the world.
"There is no sadness here or remorse."
Mr Graham also took multiple screenshots of the media reporting, which Mr Wright says was "another trophy" and the accused "gathering news of their infamy and saving it".
The following morning, people across the world were talking about what had happened, Mr Wright says.
He says there was "nothing unusual" about the public response but "what is unusual is Graham and Carruthers’s behaviour after the news broke".
The two had a five minute phone call, then, when Mr Carruthers was sending him posts and clippings about the "outpouring of upset", Mr Graham replied: "Here we go".
Mr Wright says the pair were "commenting but not feeling bad," adding they were "loving it" and "revelling in it", these being the responses of two men who thought it was "clever funny or big".
They also shared comments about how well the cut had been carried out.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC is now giving jurors a quick summary of what has been heard so far.
The key points include:
The accused took a wedge cut out of the tree as a trophy, Mr Wright says.
He says there is "no doubt about it" that a picture at 02:01 of a piece of wood in his car was taken at his home before anyone else in the world knew what had happened to the tree.
Mr Wright says an expert examined the images and concluded there is "no doubt" the boot of the car was Mr Graham's Range Rover.
A forensic botanist concluded there was "very strong evidence" the piece of wood was the wedge from the Sycamore Gap tree, Mr Wright says.
At about 01:30 as they headed home, Adam Carruthers was sent a video from his girlfriend of his child being bottle-fed, to which he replied: "I've got a better video than that."
His partner responded "I bet", to which Mr Carruthers replied with a number of kisses and the message "you know the score", the court hears.
The video was then sent to his phone by Mr Graham's phone, the court hears, adding he now had his own record of this "heroic act he has just committed".
About 25 minutes after the film on the phone was recorded, the headlights of a car were captured leaving the area on the camera at the nearby Twice Brewed Inn, Mr Wright says.
He says the footage caught at 00:58 is the pair leaving in Mr Graham's Range Rover and heading back towards Carlisle.
The trial has now resumed with prosecutor Richard Wright KC still opening the case to jurors.
Before the short break, they were shown a two minute and 41 second-long video of what the prosecution say is the moment the tree was cut down.
Mr Wright says the footage was "created" on Mr Graham's mobile phone at 00:32 on 28 September, 37 minutes after the car was seen passing the Twice Brewed Inn.
He said its metadata reveals it was recorded at the exact coordinates of Sycamore Gap.
"In simple terms Graham's phone was right there and his phone filmed the tree being cut down," Mr Wright says.
He also says whoever filmed it was as responsible for the criminal act as the person wielding the chainsaw, adding: "They were in it together, and they were Mr Carruthers and Mr Graham."
A photo was also taken at 00:34 showing the outline of a felled tree, Mr Wright says.
Image source, PA MediaDaniel Graham and Adam Carruthers deny two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and the Roman wall.
The trial is now taking a short break to allow jurors to stretch their legs.
This morning's session ended with the showing of the mobile phone footage which prosecutors say was the moment the tree was felled.
Richard Wright KC is part way through his opening to jurors, having started at about 10:30 BST.
He has told jurors it was a "moronic mission" with the tree, that stood for more than a century, being felled within minutes.
Mr Wright said the defendants had been good friends and were together that night, with data showing Mr Graham's phone and Range Rover travelling towards and away from Sycamore Gap.
A picture was taken of a chunk of wood in Mr Graham's boot which was almost certainly the wedge cut out of the tree that the pair had taken as a trophy, Mr Wright said, although he added it had never been found by police.
Afterwards, when news of the felling broke in the press and on social media, the men shared multiple posts and appeared to be "revelling" in.
Both Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers deny two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and the Roman wall.
Fiona Trott
Reporting from Newcastle Crown Court
Footage shown to the jury displays a large tree nestled in a dip on the landscape and you can hear the sound of it falling.
Defendant Daniel Graham watches closely.
Jurors have now been shown the footage filmed on Mr Graham's phone which prosecutor Mr Wright says is the moment the tree was cut down.
He says the two minute and 41 second-long video is "extremely dark" but the "unmistakeable" noise of a chainsaw can be heard followed by the sound of a tree falling.
Police experts have "enhanced" the video as much as possible but it has "not been interfered with", Mr Wright tells the jury.
"What you are going to see is the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree," Mr Wright says, before the video is played.
It is very grainy and unclear at the beginning but midway through the camera operator steps back or zooms out and the silhouette of a person using a chainsaw to cut the tree down is clearly visible.
It ends with an almighty crashing sound and the tree disappearing from view.
Footage recorded by CCTV cameras at the Twice Brewed Inn near Hadrian's Wall is also important, Mr Wright says.
At 23.55 on 27 September, the pub's camera captured a set of vehicle headlights travelling up and making a left turn towards the Steel Rigg car park, which was a 20 minute walk to the tree, Mr Wright says
It was too dark to make out the vehicle but when put together with the phone and ANPR data, Mr Wright says that was Mr Graham's Range Rover approaching the car park from where the two would set off on foot.
Mr Wright says jurors should be able to see the defendants "are in it together".
He says: "On this night at the very time this tree is going to be felled, Mr Carruthers is not at home, he is out and about.
"He not not ringing his pal Mr Graham any more and there is Mr Graham's Range Rover leaving his home address travelling towards Sycamore Gap just at the time the tree is going to be cut down and then heading back again.
"And Mr Graham's phone is doing the same thing.
"They are in it together."
Mr Graham's Range Rover was also captured on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras heading towards Sycamore Gap that night, the court hears.
It was last seen at Brampton at 23:37 before being caught on the same camera heading back towards Carlisle at 01:18.
Mr Wright says it is anticipated the defence will claim someone else was driving Mr Graham's car, but the prosecution say the car's movements tally with those recorded from Mr Graham's mobile phone.