Five things you may have missed in Sycamore Gap trial

The tree at Sycamore Gap took well over a century to grow and just minutes to cut down.

It was globally renowned, standing as it did at the edge of the Roman frontier in northern England, and had been depicted countless times in photographs, paintings and films.

Overnight on 27 September 2023, under the cover of darkness, someone chopped it down, sparking international outrage and condemnation.

Over the last week, Newcastle Crown Court has been hearing the trial of the two men who deny felling the tree.

Here's some of what jurors have been told so far.

• For a blow-by-blow of what's been heard in court over the last few days, click here

Prosecutors allege Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, carried out the "moronic mission".

The prosecution say that while one felled the tree with a chainsaw, the other filmed it on Mr Graham's phone - something they both deny.

Police discovered a two minute and 41 second-long video a month later when they arrested Mr Graham and seized his phone.

The original video is dark, just the sounds of a chainsaw followed by the crashing fall of a tree and then silence, broken only by the wind blowing at the remote spot.

An enhanced version was shown to jurors, with the video's metadata showing it was filmed at about 00:30 BST at the exact coordinates of the much-loved tree.

When quizzed by police about how the video got on his phone, Mr Graham repeatedly answered "no comment".

The tree was felled using a "hinge-and-wedge" technique, the court heard.

A forestry expert said it would have been "unequivocally obvious" it would topple northwards, with the bottom of its severed trunk falling on the Roman wall and causing £1,144 worth of damage.

To facilitate the fall, a large wedge had to be cut out of the trunk, which prosecutors say the defendants took away with them as a "trophy".

A picture was taken a couple of hours later on Mr Graham's phone, showing a large chunk of wood and chainsaw in the back of his Range Rover.

A forensic botanist said there was "very strong evidence" the wedge had come from the Sycamore Gap tree.

Neither the wedge nor the chainsaw have been found by police.

Cell site analysis, which tracks the movements of a mobile phone, and automatic number plate recognition cameras, which follow the progress of a car, have been repeatedly referred to.

In short, Mr Graham's phone and car were both monitored travelling towards Sycamore Gap from his home in Carlisle before the felling, then returning westward afterwards, the court heard.

A pair of headlights were also captured on CCTV from the nearby Twice Brewed Inn heading towards Steel Rigg, the closest public car park to the tree, just before midnight, returning about an hour later.

Prosecutors say Mr Graham and his good friend Mr Carruthers, from Wigton in Cumbria, had been in regular phone during the day but that stopped at 22:23, strongly suggesting they were together from then on.

Messages exchanged between Mr Carruthers and his partner also showed he was not at home that night, the court heard.

On 28 September 2023, the world awoke to find the tree had been felled.

Initial speculation was that it had come down in Storm Agnes, which had blown through that night, but it quickly became apparent the tree had been deliberately and illegally felled, jurors heard.

The two defendants rapidly began swapping screenshots of social media posts and press reports on their phones, the court heard.

"Here we go," Mr Graham wrote to his co-accused.

One person had commented on Facebook that there were "some weak people that walk this earth, disgusting behaviour".

Mr Graham sent a voice note to Mr Carruthers saying: "Weak? Does he realise how heavy [stuff] is":[]}