One of the two former friends accused of chopping down the tree at Sycamore Gap told police he was being framed for the crime as part of a dispute.
Groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, of Carlisle, said he knew how to cut down trees and had three or four chainsaws, but he was not trained to fell anything as large as the famous sycamore beside Hadrian’s Wall.
Graham and Adam Carruthers, 32, of Wigtob, each deny two counts of causing criminal damage in September 2023.
The prosecution say they travelled from Carlisle to the Northumberland landmark in the pitch black during Storm Agnes and used a chainsaw to fell the sycamore, which then crashed on to the Roman wall.
On the third day of the trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard how Graham told police in an interview that he thought he was being fixed up and mentioned a fake profile when asked with whom he was in dispute.
He told police there had been an altercation when his friend Carruthers was assaulted, and Facebook messages later appeared, accusing him and Carruthers of felling the Sycamore Gap tree.
He said: “It was all false…. someone stirring the pot.”
Asked if the dispute was ongoing, he replied: “Obviously it’s not finished because I’m in here.”
Graham was first arrested at his home at Millbeck Stables, on October 31 2023.
His home was searched and two chainsaws were seized from a work shed, as well as a mobile phone inside a jacket pocket hanging in the caravan.
The court heard Carruthers was first arrested on suspicion of criminal damage the same day at the caravan where he was living at The Old Fuel Depot at Kirkbride Airfield, near Wigton.
In his first interview with police, Graham said he allowed other people to use his Range Rover.
His business had 11 vehicles, including wagons, tippers and dumpers, and others could drive them.
Graham later added: “Adam takes it whenever he needs it like. A good pal, Adam.”
The jury has been told the defendants now appeared to blame each other and their once-close friendship has unravelled.
Asked by police if Carruthers had ever worked for him, Graham said: “He does tree work with us. All Adam does is tree work.”
Asked whether Carruthers was an experienced tree surgeon, Graham replied: “I wouldn’t say tree surgeon. He’s keen. You can put him up a tree with ropes and not worry he’s going to come down.”
Graham told police he was self-employed and he sometimes cut down trees as part of the business.
Asked if any of the chainsaws he owned could be linked to cutting down the sycamore, Graham told police: “They wouldn’t be big enough.”
Asked how he would cut down the tree at Sycamore Gap, he replied: “I have never done a large fell, I haven’t been trained for that.”
When he was asked how he would fell a tree from the bottom, he said he would cut a wedge from one side, cut in from the other side and would be aware of which way it was going to fall.
In the same interview, Graham told police: “I know who’s done it and I’m going to get my own back,” but then said he meant he knew who had accused him.
He said: “It’s nowt to do with me and I don’t know who’s done it, but I know who’s put my name forwards.
“I know who’s made the allegation … I know who’s done this to me.”
Graham answered “no” when asked if he was responsible for felling the tree.
On what he knew about it, he said: “Just what I seen on the internet and obviously the news. I know about as much as everybody else does, it’s all over national news.”
Earlier, jurors heard police searched a home in Wigton linked to Carruthers, hoping to find a missing chainsaw and wedge cut from the tree.
Rebecca Brown, junior counsel for the prosecution, said the house was extremely cluttered with access to most rooms difficult because of this and there was no sign of any chainsaws or the wedge.
The jury was shown footage of Sycamore Gap being felled during the trial yesterday.
The trial continues.
