London: Two men have been charged with cutting down the popular 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree that toppled over on Hadrian’s Wall last year in northern England, prosecutors said.

Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged on Tuesday, UK time, with causing criminal damage and damaging the wall built in AD 122 by Emperor Hadrian to guard the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire.

They were ordered to appear in Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on May 15.

The sycamore’s majestic canopy between two hills made it a popular subject for landscape photographers. It became a destination on the path along the wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after being featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

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The nighttime felling caused widespread outrage as police tried to find the culprits behind what they called a deliberate act of vandalism.

Northumbria Police Superintendent Kevin Waring called it “an incredibly sad day” when the cut tree was found. A hiker who was among the first people to see it lying on the ground expressed shock.

“It’s basically the iconic picture that everyone wants to see,” Alison Hawkins said at the time. “You can forgive nature doing it, but you can’t forgive that.”

Graham and Carruthers were arrested in October and released on bail. It took authorities more than six months to bring charges against them.