Carruthers, whose phone was tracked going near the tree earlier in the day for a suspected recce, said he did not know who chopped the tree down and the messages the men exchanged discussing the felling afterwards were just the natural chat of two men interested in a global news event.

LONDON (AP) — Vandals who cut down England’s beloved Sycamore Gap tree were sentenced Tuesday to more than four years in prison for damaging the country’s natural heritage and for the widespread outrage and distress it caused.