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 Media

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.

Fiona Trott
Reporting from Newcastle Crown Court

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC has now been addressing the jury for more than an hour.

In the dock, Daniel Graham is looking at Mr Wright and the judge as he follows proceedings.

Adam Carruthers has his head down.

Data from Mr Graham's phone shows it was moving towards Sycamore Gap on the night of 27 September, Mr Wright says.

So-called cell site analysis shows Mr Graham's phone moving along the A689 towards the tree at about 23:30, with the final ping coming at 23:41 at Brampton, about 11 miles (18km) west of Sycamore Gap.

"Mr Graham's telephone was deliberately disconnected from the network at that time, " Mr Wright says, adding the prosecution say Mr Graham was the man in possession of the phone.

The phone reconnected to the network about two hours later at 01:28, the court hears.

Data from the men's phones shows they were together that night, the court hears.

The last phone contact between the two men was a one minute and 18 second phone call at 22:23 on 27 September, with the lack of further messages and calls strongly suggesting the pair were then together for the rest of the night, Mr Wright says.

"You don't need to phone somebody who are you with," the prosecutor says.

Messages between Mr Carruthers and his partner showed he was not at home that night, the court hears.

Image source, PA Media

This a reminder of where we are and what's been going on.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC is giving his opening speech to jurors in courtroom one at Newcastle Crown Court, he has been talking for about 45 minutes.

He is just outlining the case at the moment with the fuller explanation and investigation of witnesses and evidence to come over the following days.

So far he has said the two accused, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, travelled from Cumbria on the night of 27 September to carry out a "moronic mission" to fell the iconic tree, causing irreparable damage to the sycamore and breaking stones on the Roman wall.

The "mindless" vandalism was filmed on Mr Graham's phone, a chunk of wood believed to be the wedge cut out of the tree was carted away in the back of his Range Rover and the whole operation took just minutes to carry out, Mr Wright has said.

In the aftermath, the pair shared multiple news and social media posts about the felling and appeared to be "revelling" in the attack, the court has heard.

Chainsaws were found at both of the accused's homes when police arrested them in October and November 2023, the prosecutor says.

But the prosecution "do not and cannot" say any of those were used on the Sycamore Gap tree, Mr Wright says, adding they actually believe the tool used on Hadrian's Wall had been "hidden away" and "simply has not been found".

Photographs previously taken at Mr Carruthers's workshop showed he had a so-called long-bar chainsaw, a powerful tool with a long blade, while there were also pictures of him handling owls, Mr Wright says.

"These are men with the knowledge, skills, equipment and wherewithal to carry out exactly this operation," the prosecutor says, adding they were good friends at the time and regularly in each other's company.

The two accused, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, knew how to chop down large trees, Mr Wright says.

On 17 August 2023, about a month before the Sycamore gap tree was felled, there was a video filmed of the two men working together to bring down a large tree, the court hears.

"These are men in the business of cutting down trees," Mr Wright says.

Image source, PA Media

The National Trust, which owned the tree and wall, had "unsurprisingly" not given anyone permission to fell the sycamore, Mr Wright says.

He also says no-one had permission to damage the Roman wall, which had some stones fractured and cracked by the falling timber.

The Prosecutor says more damage to the wall was "fortunately", through "luck not judgement", averted because the canopy of the fallen tree bore the brunt of its weight.

"It is not in dispute there were acts of criminal damage," Mr Wright says, adding the issue for jurors is "who did it?".

The wedge cut out of the tree by those felling it was never found, Mr Wright says.

The prosecutor says it was taken away in Mr Graham's Range Rover as "some sort of trophy or reminder of this senseless act".

Ian Everard, a forester for the Forestry Commission with 36 years experience, was also at the scene and confirmed the marking of the tree and cutting of the wedge were part of a "recognised tree felling technique", the court hears.

A notch is cut into the "falling" direction with another cut made directly opposite to act as a hinge, jurors hear.

"That allows the person felling the tree to control and predict the direction in which the tree is going to fall," Mr Wright says.

He tells jurors the technique is "relevant" as it "shows the tree was felled by somebody who had the knowledge and skill of how to fell a tree".

Mr Wright says it also means whoever cut the tree down would have known it would most likely fall on to the Roman wall.

Image source, Alice Whysall-Price

Holidaymaker Alice Whysall-Price took a picture of the Sycamore Gap tree while out on a walk at about 17:20 on Wednesday 27 September 2023, jurors hear.

"So we know at [that time] the tree was still standing," Mr Wright says.

At 09:46 the following day, the felled tree was reported to police who swiftly went to the scene to join a growing crowd of people, the prosecutor says.

The first officer noticed silver spray paint on the tree and a wedge had been cut for it, although he could not find the missing chunk at the scene, the court hears.