Sycamore Gap accused face trial in December after formally pleading not guilty

Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, both from Cumbria, are alleged to have caused £622,191 worth of damage to the tree and £1,144 to Hadrian's Wall, which it grew beside.

They each face two charges of damaging property, in relation to the tree and wall, which is a world heritage site

The tree and wall both belong to the National Trust and are places of historic interest or natural beauty.

At Newcastle Crown Court today Graham, of Miilbeck Stables, Carlisle, who wore a dark suit and tie, pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Carruthers, of Church Street, Wigton, denied both charges during a previous hearing at the same court and was not at today's hearing.

Judge Paul Sloan KC said a trial, which may last ten days, will start on December 3 and a further pre-trial hearing will take place on November 11.

The court heard at an earlier hearing the value of the damage was calculated by the CAVAT tool - which stands for Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees.

The method takes into account a number of different factors including the tree's size, type, and the impact on the community.

The tree, which was one of the most photographed in the world and appeared in the 1991 Robin Hood Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner, was felled in the early hours of September 28 last year sparking worldwide outrage.

After it was chopped down, workers from the National Trust and the Northumberland National Park Authority were able to recover young seeds from the site.

Conversationists have since confirmed that the saplings are beginning to show shoots of life while they are kept at a secret location.