One of Sycamore Gap accused excused attendance at court due to illness

But the trial of the pair accused of cutting down the iconic tree on Hadrian's Wall remains on track to be heard next month at Newcastle Crown Court.

Daniel Graham, 39, and 32-year-old Adam Carruthers, both from Cumbria, have each previously denied two charges of criminal damage.

One relates to the tree itself, which was felled overnight on September 27/28, last year, and the other count refers to a section of the Roman-built wall, on which it stood, in Northumberland.

The damage to the tree has been put at £622,191 by the Crown, while £1,144-worth of damage was said to have been caused to the wall, a Unesco World Heritage site, when the tree was felled.

(Image: The National Trust (John Millar)) Graham, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court today (Monday November 11) for a pre-trial further case management hearing.

But co-accused, Carruthers, of Church Street, Wigton, was excused attendance due to illness and he linked to the court by phone from home.

Judge Paul Sloan KC addressed Carruthers over the link, saying: “I gather you are unwell and that is why you haven’t travelled to court today.”

Arrangements over trial readiness for the case were discussed by prosecuting counsel, Rebecca Brown, and Chris Knox, for Graham, and his counterpart Andrew Gurney, who represents Carruthers.

(Image: Elizabeth Cook (The Press Association)) A joint report by experts both for the prosecution and defence, with areas of agreement and disagreement to be pinpointed, is to be prepared ahead of the trial.

Judge Paul Sloan, The Recorder of Newcastle, adjourned the hearing and renewed bail for both defendants ahead of the start of the trial, on Tuesday December 3.

It has a listing estimate for up to ten days' court time.

The felling of the tree brought a world-wide outpouring of anger and bewilderment, but a year on details of the legacy for the iconic Sycamore were revealed, in late September this year.

(Image: The National Trust (Ben Hughes)) A partnership of the National Trust, Northumberland Nation Park Authority and Historic England have worked together to come up with a legacy strategy.

It includes a temporary exhibition at The Sill: National Landscape Recovery Centre, in Northumberland.

As part of the exhibition, visitors have been asked to make promises to nature which will go on to be incorporated into the second and final phase of an artistic commission to ensure the legacy of the tree reflects people, place and nature.

The final exhibition is set to open at The Sill by Easter 2025.

Charlie Whinney of ‘Creative Communities CIC’ art collective was announced as artist for the commission, in June.

The National Trust has announced the opportunity for members of the public to request one of the Sycamore Gap saplings.

Its ‘Trees of Hope’ initiative, where 49 saplings, one to represent each foot of the height of the tree at the time of felling, will be gifted to communities around the country.

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People from around the UK are invited to apply for a tree to plant in a publicly accessible spaces, which have emotional connections with people and different communities.

A sapling has been presented to all National Parks by Sarah Pemberton, Assistant Director of Operations for the National Trust in the North East, at the UK National Parks Conference 2024 in Newcastle in September.

Each National Park took away a promise allocating them one of the saplings, which will be distributed by the National Trust when the young trees are hardy enough to be planted.