A second defendant accused of felling the famous Sycamore Gap tree and causing more than £620,000 of damage has denied the offences.

Adam Carruthers of Wigton, Cumbria, denied causing £622,191 worth of damage to the much-photographed Northumberland tree at Newcastle Crown Court

The 31-year-old also denied causing £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was hit by the tree when it was cut down during the night of 28 September last year.

Co-accused Daniel Graham, 38, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, did not attend the hearing as he was “unavoidably detained”, according to his barrister Christopher Knox.

Graham previously denied the same offences at a magistrates’ court hearing.

Read more:
Two men charged over felling of Sycamore Gap tree
King receives first seedling from felled Sycamore Gap tree

Both the tree and the wall were said to belong to the National Trust.

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Judge Paul Sloan KC set a trial date of 3 December and granted Carruthers conditional bail in the meantime.

He set a case management hearing for 27 August.

The Sycamore Gap tree was among the most photographed in the UK and was made famous in a scene in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Last month it was revealed seeds collected from the tree after it was felled are beginning to spring into life, with the King being the first to receive a seedling.

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