"Drunken Stupidity": Four Years in Prison for Destroyer of the Robin Hood Tree in England

The act of the 32 and 39-year-old men had caused outrage throughout Great Britain and even worldwide. A jury found them guilty in May of having jointly felled the tree with a chainsaw on a September night in 2023. Within minutes, the centuries-old tree was said to have been irreparably damaged.

Even Roman Hadrian's Wall Damaged by "Drunken Stupidity"

The iconic tree, known from the Hollywood film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" with Kevin Costner, had fallen onto the equally world-famous Hadrian's Wall, which was also damaged. The prosecution had described the action of the two defendants as senseless vandalism.

The convicted could not offer a better explanation for the act. On the day of the sentencing, one of the perpetrators conveyed through his lawyer that it was "unfortunately just a drunken stupidity" that led to the act. According to the judge, the other blamed his co-defendant for the main responsibility and claimed he was just dragged along.

World-Famous Photo Motif Destroyed Forever

The sycamore tree stood in a dip - the so-called Sycamore Gap - in Northumberland and was a popular photo motif. Over many years, the tree and its location had become a famous site, depicted countless times in photographs, feature films, and artworks.

Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans in the second century AD to protect against attacks from the north and to control trade routes. It is a World Heritage Site.

(APA/Red)

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