PROSECUTED | William Crotty, born November 1981, and Ricky Crotty, born March 1990, both of Royston – charged with killing a badger alongside Scott Brown of Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear, Kevin Barry Cowell and Gabrielle Freeney, both of Enfield, London and David Fox of Ongar, Essex.
L-R Billy Crotty, Ricky Crotty, Scott Brown (top) and Kevin Cowell
The men denied three charges each in total – interfering with badger setts, digging for badgers and wilfully killing a badger – and were cleared by a jury.
They were charged after they were caught with spades and a lurcher-type dog in a field near Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire on November 6, 2011.
“Innocent” Scott Brown from Boldon Colliery. Image: Facebook
The court had viewed a video filmed from the police helicopter, showing five men with spades and a lurcher-type dog standing around a hole in a field which Pc Timothy Gawler said “had the appearance of a grave shape”.
Pc Gawler, who spotted the group from the helicopter at 1.55pm, said the men then started to fill the hole in.
Three of the men left the scene in a red truck with a sixth man, the driver, while another two left the scene on foot, and all were later arrested.
Despite the evidence, the men were found not guilty.
Speaking after the verdict, boxing promoter Billy and tree surgeon Ricky, who are members of the travelling fraternity, complained that their businesses and families’ lives had been affected by the case.
“We’ve even had the animal rights people on our backs”, he said bitterly.
Billy denied that the group were badger baiting “as we are aware that it is illegal”. Instead, he said that they were pursuing foxes and had been given permission by a local farmer to be on the land.
He added that he and his brother “do voluntary pest control for a number of farmers”.
CONVICTED (2012) | Bethan Louise Lawson (now Bethan Whitehead), born 29/11/1989, of Bristow Road, Middlesbrough TS4 2QB – conspired with two unnamed minors to brutally kill her pet kitten.
Lawson had two teenagers kill the 10 week-old kitten, Puss Puss, by trying to drown him, forcing him to drink bleach and break his neck.
The crime came to light when an anonymous letter was sent to the local RSPCA revealing what Lawson and her two friends had done.
Abused kitten Puss Puss suffered a horrible death on his owner Bethan Lawson’s instructions
When RSPCA Inspector Claire Wilson confronted Lawson, she took her to the centre of a busy roundabout in central Middlesbrough, Teesside where a potato masher marked the grave of Puss Puss.
The potato masher had been used to dig the shallow grave in September 2011.
Inspector Wilson also found a note reading: ‘Hey Puss Puss, we love you, and are sorry that we hurt you, but we didn’t want you to suffer.’
It was signed by Lawson, the two youths, who have been prosecuted, and two others who were not taken to court.
A post mortem showed Puss Puss suffered a possible broken neck, bruising on his shoulder and concluded that he probably died of drowning, but possibly from other injuries.
Sentence: twelve weeks in prison. Banned from keeping animals for ten years (expired July 2022).
#MostEvil | Andrew David Summerfield, born 02/07/1968, of 8 Elm Close, Tiptree, Colchester CO5 0NN – shot pet dog 17 times with an air rifle and slashed him eight times in the head with a meat cleaver before attaching a noose and abandoning him on a busy road
Pure evil: Andrew Summerfield of Tiptree, Colchester, who used an air rifle and meat cleaver to attack helpless Barney
Police found the dog, named Barney, with a head wound in which a quarter of the front top of his head was missing.
Flies and maggots had formed a “blanket” over the head wound. He also had a cut to his neck from where a noose had been left.
The officers, who closed the A12 in both directions because Barney was getting up and walking around, arranged for a vet to deliver a lethal injection at the scene.
Summerfield was tracked as the owner because Barney had been microchipped.
At first, Summerfield told police he had sold the dog for £10 the previous day. But an air rifle and meat cleaver found at his home were matched with the incident.
Summerfield’s lawyer said her client had mental health issues and had been diagnosed as bi-polar. Medication for his condition had made him “violent”.
Sentence: 26 weeks’ imprisonment; deprivation order in respect of his remaining animals; the weapons were forfeited and destroyed. Disqualified from keeping animals for life.
#MostEvil | Sean Adam Deakin, born 20 April 1993, of 74 Upper Barker Street, Liversedge, West Yorkshire WF15 7HJ, but with links to Leeds, Wakefield and Wigan – beat his Staffordshire bull terrier with a hammer before stabbing him to death while girlfriend Sarah Amanda Tame, born 06/07/1992 of 146 Sandy Lane, Hindley, Wigan WN2 4EW, laughed.
Evil incarnate. Sean Adam Deakin and girlfriend Sarah Amanda Tame, originally from Wigan but now living in Leeds
The pair. who are originally from Wigan and have also lived in Wakefield, responded to a Gumtree advert offering a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Tyson.
Just a couple of days after getting Tyson, Deakin viciously attacked him with a hammer at 3am in the morning, smashing down around 20 blows on his head, while girlfriend Sarah laughed.
Tame pictured in April 2021. Source: Facebook.
Three hours later Deakin woke to find that Tyson had urinated on the bed. Deakin chased the terrified dog, gripped him between his legs and stabbed him in the chest with a six inch knife.
For the next 12 hours he allowed Tyson to die slowly, in agony, unable to move, fully conscious and vomiting.
Animal lovers staged a protest at the pair’s trial and one group reported on proceedings in court, noting Sarah Tame’s complete lack of remorse
Neither Deakin, nor Tame, who have a child who lives with Tame’s mother, sought help for Tyson during his many hours of agony.
Later under the cover of darkness Deakin wrapped Tyson in a plastic bag and dumped him in a wheelie bin.
Sentence: Deakin – jailed for 20 weeks; Tame – 150 hours’ unpaid work and £200 prosecution costs. Both banned from keeping any animals for 10 years (expired July 2022).
CONVICTED (2012) | Richard Alan Atkins, born 12 June 1967, of 178 Oversetts Road, Newhall, Swadlincote DE11 0SW – bred dogs to hunt and kill foxes and badgers
Richard Atkins was jailed after he bred dogs to hunt down and kill foxes and badgers so he could film it for a sick thrill.
Atkins was sentenced to 24 weeks behind bars after a photo showed him smiling with glee as he held a still live fox by the throat.
The father admitted nine charges including causing animals to fight, keeping dogs for the purpose of animal fighting, causing unnecessary suffering and animal welfare offences. when he appeared at Burton upon Trent magistrates on 29 June 2012
The badly mutilated face of Patterdale terrier Pudding. The little dog, who was also blind in one eye, was successfully rehabilitated and rehomed but passed away some time later. Phone on the right shows bloodsports fanatic Richard Atkins holding a still live fox by the throat.
Atkins also received a lifetime ban on keeping all animals and the forfeiture of all his dogs and equipment used for baiting and hunting.
Atkins trained his terriers to hunt down and attack wild animals. He then filmed the sickening attacks on a digital video camera which he showed to his equally twisted associates.
Richard Atkins inflicted malicious and sadistic acts of cruelty on wild animals, which also caused immense suffering to his dogs.
The RSPCA were able to successfully bring the prosecution to court when forensic examination of badger baiting footage seized from a digital video camera proved a voice heard in the background was that of Atkins.
The court saw graphic footage of Atkins’s black Patterdale terrier, later named as Pudding (pictured above) and bull lurcher-type dogs carrying out attacks on two badgers and a fox in separate incidents.
In another clip a badger is seen having its leg torn off, while men – including Atkins – can be heard laughing in the background.
As well as the harrowing clips which showed the wild animals being attacked, the dogs used by Atkins also suffered sickening injuries during the fights.
The defendant admitted that he would attempt to treat his dogs’ injuries at home, rather than take them to a vet and raise suspicion.
Both the Patterdale terrier and bull lurcher seen in the footage were found at Atkins’ home when a warrant was carried out by police and the RSPCA.
The Patterdale terrier had suffered huge injuries to her jaw and she was partially blind in one eye. Four other dogs – also believed to have been bred for fighting and hunting – were seized during the warrant, along with paraphernalia, digging equipment and search lights.
Atkins had a similar conviction from 1999 when he was found guilty of digging for a badger in 1999 alongside Lee Robert Burton of Tower Road, Hartshorne.
Three dogs were found on the site and they all had scratches on their faces. A dead badger was found at the scene and the body was still warm. When they were taken back to their house there was a concrete badger on the front garden which all three dogs immediately attacked.
Both men were sentenced to two months in prison.
Magistrates ordered all equipment recovered by police to be destroyed and disqualified both men from owning a dog for three years.
The three dogs were found new homes.
Sentencing (2012): jailed for 24 weeks and banned from keeping all animals for life.
In August 2021 Atkins was jailed for 22 months after ramming a car and stabbing two brothers following a bitter family feud. The crazed attack on the men – Atkins brothers-in-law – was witnessed by the 12-year-old son of one of the victims, as well as members of the public.
The court heard how Atkins rammed the men’s vehicle from behind as they drove home.
He then mounted a pavement, got in front of them to block them in, got out and stabbed both men as they tried to defend themselves.
He then told one of them “I told you, you were going to have it” before going on to say he “didn’t care” if he ended up in prison.
Jailing him for 22 months, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: “It was a horrific incident that could have led to more serious injuries.
“The red mist descended.
As well as the prison sentence, Judge Bennett handed Atkins a seven-year restraining order not to contact the victims and a third named individual.
