The two men who mounted a “moronic mission” to cut down the much-loved Sycamore Gap tree have been jailed for a total of eight and a half years. Daniel Graham, 39, and accomplice Adam Carruthers, 32, chopped down the tree in what they claimed was an “act of drunken stupidity”.

The Sycamore Gap wasn't a particularly ancient tree, nor a native species, but its position gave it a totemic status. Tucked into a fold of the hills in an area of outstanding beauty, the tree was famous around the world. People went there to have picnics, propose marriage, scatter ashes and to seek solace during lockdown.

A man who was arrested over the felling of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree says he’s taken unusual measures to avoid public abuse. Walter Renwick, a lumberjack, was arrested the day after the popular tree was felled in September 2023.