Mobile phone footage showing the famous Sycamore Gap tree being cut down in less than three minutes has been played in court as the trial of two men accused of felling it continues.
Daniel Graham, 39, from Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Wigton in Cumbria, are on trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Each denies two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and Hadrian's Wall.
The court was shown a video lasting two minutes and 41 seconds, taken from Graham's iPhone, which prosecutors say captures the moment the 100-year-old tree was chopped down.
Grainy footage enhanced by Northumbria Police shows the moment the alleged fellers chopped down the tree with a chainsaw
PA
The iconic tree stood in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland before being felled overnight on September 27, 2023.
Police analyst Amy Sutherland told the court the video was found in the download section of Graham's phone, which was seized from his jacket pocket.
The footage was "in darkness", but "sounds of a chainsaw" could be heard throughout.
Sutherland confirmed she had extracted the coordinates of where the video was filmed from its metadata.
These coordinates matched the location of Sycamore Gap.
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Adam Carruthers, 32, is on trial at Newcastle Crown Court
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Jurors heard the video was filmed "in real time" at 12.32am on September 28.
The court was shown the footage twice - once in its original dark form, and again after enhancement by a Northumbria Police specialist.
In the enhanced black and white version, a figure can be seen working at the trunk of the tree, with audio of wind blowing and a chainsaw buzzing.
The video "moves around and zooms in and out as the recording continues", according to prosecutor Richard Wright KC.
Court sketch showing Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers
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About halfway through, the chainsaw quiets and someone removes a wedge from the tree.
The machine then starts up again before the sycamore crashes to the ground.
Wright told jurors: "It will be a matter for you what you think this video shows."
He suggested "the video was taken by someone holding the phone in their hand."
Heavy machinery was brought in to clear the debris
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Opening the case to jurors, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the tree, which was held in "high affection" by many, was chopped down in just minutes.
He told the court the accused "loved" the outrage caused by their actions.
Wright described the felling as a "moronic mission".
The court heard that the defendants kept a wedge of the tree as a trophy.
The iconic sycamore had stood for more than 100 years in its location on Hadrian's Wall before being cut down.
Both men face two counts of criminal damage - one relating to the tree itself and another to Hadrian's Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell.
