Seaham, County Durham: David Smith

CONVICTED (2007) | David ‘Dave’ Smith, born c. 1949, of Adam and Eve Cottage, Northdene Avenue, Seaham SR7 7BH – killed thousands of ex-racing greyhounds with a bolt gun and buried them at his home

Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun
Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun. Despite this, he was never charged with animal cruelty.

The prosecution of Dave Smith was brought by the Environment Agency after police ruled that the ‘Seaham Slaughterer’ as he came to be known would not face criminal charges in relation to the destruction of the dogs.

Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun. Photo shows Smith leading two greyhounds to their deaths.
Smith was photographed by a reporter leading two greyhounds to the kill zone. The dogs were later identified as two-year-olds Clash Nitro and Rent a Flyer, bred and raised in Ireland before being sold off.

It had been claimed that Smith had shot about 10,000 dogs, but magistrates were told the figure was nowhere near that. It was conceded that he had put down two dogs a week for two years at a cost of £10 a time.

Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun. This photo shows Smith returning with the bodies of the same two dogs in a wheelbarrow
The shocking footage shows Smith returning moments later with the bodies of the same two dogs in a wheelbarrow

While Smith was questioned by police, it was confirmed the bolt gun used to kill the retired greyhounds was held legitimately.

There are unconfirmed reports that Smith also disposed of dogs for the police and local authority.

Enquiries by the RSPCA concluded that there was no indication animal cruelty laws had been broken.

A spokeswoman for the charity said if used properly a bolt gun was a humane method of killing dogs and there had been no evidence that Smith had killed the greyhounds inhumanely.

Following a six-month investigation, the Environment Agency prosecuted him under legislation used to restrict the dumping of waste.

Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun

Smith admitted a single charge under the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations that, on 12 July 2006 he disposed of waste – the bodies of deceased dogs – on land without a permit.

Greyhound protection group Greyhound Action (now defunct) held a protest outside the court and said it was disgraceful that the dog racing industry itself was not in the dock.

Sentencing: £2,000 fine for environmental breaches

BBC News


Update 2019

Dave Smith still runs a building supplies business Dave Smith Builders Merchants & DIY (website here) based in Lord Street, Seaham SR7 7JH. At the time of his prosecution, many local people came forward to support Smith, claiming that he was only meeting a demand from the greyhound industry.

In June 2019 a documentary on animal cruelty within the greyhound industry by Irish TV channel RTE entitled RTÉ Investigates: Greyhounds Running for Their Lives highlighted the Smith case and made the shocking discovery that many Irish knackeries, including Larry Earle Ltd of Camolin, Co. Wexford, and John Styles & Son Ltd in Kyletalesha Townland, Co. Laois , will willingly provide a similar service today.

Peterlee, County Durham: Maxine and Paul Askew

CONVICTED (2007) | Maxine Askew, born c. 1971, and husband Paul Askew, born 14 October 1976, formerly of Briardale Way, Easington, County Durham, and as at March 2019 believed to be living at Dixon Rise, Horden, Peterlee SR8 4HX – failed to seek veterinary help for their emaciated, lice-ridden pony

Maxine and Paul Askew admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the male bay pony whom the RSPCA had discovered in a distressed condition at an allotment in Hackworth Road, Blackpool.

The yearling was examined by a vet and was found to be very thin. He was covered in live lice and eggs and had sustained large areas of hair loss.

The pony weighed only 101kg, but by August 2006, after being in the care of the RSPCA, he more than doubled his body weight to 233kg.

Paul and Maxine Askew from Peterlee
The Askews were banned from keeping horses for ten years.

When interviewed, Paul Askew said he had only had the colt for four to five months and he had been in the best of health “until it got these fleas”, which he said he treated with powder.

When questioned, Maxine Askew said her husband had been treating the fleas and she described the pony as a “fussy eater”.

Sentencing: total fines and costs of £875 each. Disqualified from keeping horses for ten years (expired January 2017).

Northern Echo

Newmarket, Suffolk: Dustin Yandell

CONVICTED (2006) | US Airforce serviceman Dustin Matthew Yandell, born 13 October 1984, at the time of offence of Mill Reef Close, Newmarket, Suffolk, and as at November 2019 of Edison in Georgia, USA – ripped his golden retriever’s throat apart with a military knife

Dog killer Dustin Yandell now of Edison in Georgia was discharged from the American Airforce after slashing his golden retriever's throat with a military knife.
Dog killer Dustin Yandell was discharged from the American Airforce after slashing his golden retriever’s throat with a military knife.

Yandell, from RAF Lakenheath, put his golden retriever, Goldie, in the bathtub before slitting her throat from one side to the other, causing the animal to suffer “severe pain and distress” in the moments leading up to her death.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Mark Thompson said it was one of the worst cases of animal abuse he had ever seen.

“This was a very, very serious act of premeditated, wanton cruelty,” he said.

“Mr Yandell knew what he was going to do. He took the dog upstairs on a lead, put it into the bath, sat with it for a moment and then slashed its throat.

“The animal’s suffering would have been untold in the few minutes while it was dying.”

Dog killer Dustin Yandell now of Edison in Georgia was discharged from the American Airforce after slashing his golden retriever's throat with a military knife.

Yandell, who served in the Iraq war as a combat medic, initially denied the offence, but later admitted killing the animal at his home in Mill Reef Close, Newmarket, in March 2005.

He said in a police interview: “I do not know what was going through my mind at the time. I put the knife in the dog’s throat, and it went from right to left.

“The next thing I remember was cleaning the bath and putting the dog in the trash bin.”

The bin containing the golden retriever was found by a Forest Heath District Council refuse collector, who was left “extremely upset and distressed” by the gruesome discovery.

Dog killer Dustin Yandell now of Edison in Georgia was discharged from the American Airforce after slashing his golden retriever's throat with a military knife.

Yandell admitted the killing could possibly have been carried out to get back at his wife, who had called him from America to say she would not be returning home and that he would not see their son again.

Defence solicitor, Jeremy Kendall, told the court Yandell had suffered a number of traumas, including the stillbirth of his second child in April last year.

“This was a one-off offence,” he said. “He is still a very young man who has out-of-the-blue committed this savage act.”

Mr Kendall said Yandell would undoubtedly be discharged from the USAF as a result of his conviction.

Chairman of the bench, Colin Reeve, said: “We are dealing with one very serious matter of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

“We consider this matter is so serious that no other sentencing is appropriate.”

Sentencing: 18 weeks in prison. Banned from keeping animals for life.

BBC News


Update 2007

In January 2007 Yandell was discharged from the US Airforce. Originally from Clinton, Maryland, USA, he is currently living in Edison in Georgia and, according to his Facebook profile, is employed as a technician with Southern Plastics. He appears to have at least one dog.

Druids Heath, Birmingham: Christopher Lees

CONVICTED (2006) | Christopher Lees, born 21/01/1986, last known address Wilsford Close, Druids Heath, Birmingham B14 5PS – one of a group of four teenagers who filmed themselves repeatedly hurling a cat from a balcony

Cat killer Chris Lees pictured outside court in 2015
Chris Lees pictured in 2015

The individual shown is Christopher Lees, one of a group of four teenagers who filmed themselves repeatedly hurling a female cat named Kharlo 60ft from a balcony. Only Lees can ever be identified for legal reasons.

Kharlo limped off but was found by her owner, student Simone Warmington, and taken to the vet. She had suffered brain damage and multiple fractures and had to be put to sleep.

Cat killer Chris Lees - social media image from 2019
2019 social media photo of Chris Lees

The mobile phone footage was shared with numerous parties before it was reported to police and the RSPCA. Lees is heard giving a running commentary as the callous group carry out their sadistic act of cruelty towards the defenceless ginger and white cat.

The prosecutor for the RSPCA said of the case: “The most disturbing feature is not only the sustained cruelty, but also that that was seen as entertainment – it was being done for no other reason than entertainment. These people were enjoying it and sending it around on phones.”

Miss Warmington described her heartbreak at losing her pet in such cruel circumstances: ” “I was absolutely devastated, I cried, I was distraught really. I couldn’t get my head around it. She would have been so scared, I will never forget it.

In July 2006 Lees pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and was sentenced to four months in prison. He was also banned from keeping animals for five years.

In August 2006 an unnamed 16-year-old girl was detained for four months and banned from keeping animal for ten years.

A 14-year-old girl was given a 12-month referral order for aiding and abetting the cruelty.

A fourth, 17-year-old youth was due to be sentenced in September 2006 but we’ve been unable to find details.

BBC News 14/07/2006
BBC News 01/08/2006


Update 2015

In May 2015 Lees was given a suspended prison sentence after harassing his ex-girlfriend in a revenge porn case.

Kingston upon Hull: Shaun Furgusson

#MostEvil | Shaun Andrew Furgusson, born 26/04/1981, as of December 2020 living in Spring Bank, Hull HU3 – stole a dog and tortured her over three days. Mongrel Chrissie died from her horrific injuries. Went on to steal another dog who was never found.

Shaun Furgusson and his victim, Chrissie
Shaun Furgusson and his victim, Chrissie, as found

Shaun Furgusson launched a motiveless attack on mongrel Chrissie, causing her to suffer brain damage, a punctured lung, five broken ribs and broken teeth. Part of her ear was cut off. Tragically she died shortly after being found by her owner.

During a horrific three-day ordeal Furgusson threw Chrissie at a television then kicked her, smashing five of her ribs. He went on to break one of her legs and bound it with wire. He then cut off one of her ears and attacked her with a hammer, smashing her teeth and shattering her skull.

Furgusson’s kitchen was said to resemble a slaughterhouse with blood everywhere.

2018 photo of Hull dog killer Shaun Furgusson
2018 photo of Hull dog killer Shaun Furgusson

Furgusson denied having seen the dog when asked by her owner, but later called her to say he had found Chrissie in the garden of a derelict house nearby. Poignantly, the dog was still breathing when her devastated owner discovered her next to a blood-stained flag but it was too late to save her and Chrissie died in her arms.

During his trial Furgusson, who at this point had a prior conviction for robbery, absconded from court but was re-captured. An additional two months was added to his four-month jail sentence for the animal cruelty offence.

Shaun Furgusson

In November 2007 Furgusson, one of four brothers, started what was described as a “wild west brawl” at a family wedding to which he wasn’t invited. His mother, Teresa ‘Dolly’ Furgusson – an education worker with East Riding – thought her son should be forgiven for torturing a dog to death, but other family members didn’t see it quite the same way. The brawl resulted in Furgusson and his mother being arrested and the bridesmaid and bride’s brother ending up in hospital.

In June 2010 a family with young children pleaded with Furgusson when the 14-year-old dog they’d had as a puppy disappeared after he burgled their home. The dog, named Bruno, was never found.

For the burglary offence Furgusson was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at Hull Crown Court.

2021 police mugshot of Furgusson.
2021 police mugshot of Furgusson.

In December 2011 sad case Furgusson attacked his ex-partner from whom he had a restraining order. He turned up at the woman’s address armed with a knife and meat cleaver. He held the meat cleaver to his neck and threatened to harm himself. Fortunately he was stopped from doing the world a favour. For this offence he received an 18-month community order.

As at 2017, father-of-one Furgusson was living at a bail hostel in Hull but later moved into a property in Hutt Street, Hull, where neighbours report seeing him in a constant state of drunkenness and singing to himself.

Sentence for killing Chrissie: just four months in prison.

Newslinks:
BBC News


Additional information

Alternative FB: https://www.facebook.com/shaun.furgusson.77.

Furgusson’s family home was in St John’s Grove, Hull HU9, and his parents, Steve and Teresa Furgusson, lived there until quite recently. They are now believed to be in Canister Close HU9 3BU.

Furgusson has three brothers – Steven, Stuart and Seb – and a sister named Natasha. He has a teenage daughter.

While believed estranged from his family for several years (although his mother has always reportedly stood by him) recent social media photographs indicate that Furgusson has been welcomed back into the family fold.


Updates

December 2021: the Hull Daily Mail reported that Furgusson (incorrectly referred to as ‘Fergusson’ in the article) was jailed for three-and-a-half years after allowing a Liverpool county lines drug-dealing gang to use his home as a base for supplying heroin and crack cocaine.

The court heard that Furgusson, who started injecting amphetamine at the age of just 14, was spending £100 a day on drugs.

Furgusson, now with 58 previous convictions to his name, admitted being concerned in supplying heroin and crack cocaine and permitting his premises to be used for supplying crack cocaine.

He said that a group of Liverpool men moved into his home and told him that they would “feed him” drugs. He did not gain anything financially.

Colwyn Bay, North Wales: James Nicholson

CONVICTED (2006) | James David Nicholson, born 22/04/1984, at the time of conviction of Station Road, Colwyn Bay, but as at March 2020 living at 67 Pocket Nook Street, St Helens WA9 1NQ – repeatedly beat his dog and hung him from a lamp-post

Dog abuser James David Nicholson

Nicholson, who works as a part-time DJ under the name N-Tyce, was caught on camera hanging Jack Russell terrier Sweep from a lamp-post as he waited for a takeaway.

Magistrates watched CCTV footage showing Sweep cowering as his owner repeatedly beat him. Nicholson then hung the terrified dog from a lamp-post, before flinging him across a pavement.

Nicholson, who sobbed as he watched the footage in court, was told the attack had caused Sweep “physiological trauma”.

He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Chris Dawson, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said: “He left the dog hanging off the windowsill. When asked why he had done that, he said ‘He kept barking.’

“He said he’d had a bad night, but he hadn’t meant to take it out on the dog.”

Nicholson cried heavily while the footage was played to magistrates, and often shielded his eyes away from the screen.

Magistrates’ chairman Howie Roberts told Nicholson: “Quite frankly, we were disgusted by what we saw on the video.

“We hope you show a lot more respect for the animals in your care.”

Nicholson, a part-time DJ from Station Road, was caught on film outside the Bay Grill takeaway on Seaview Road, Colwyn Bay, just after midnight on 4 September 2005.

He was told he could not take the dog into the shop, but became increasingly angry at the pet barking while he was waiting outside.
It was then the brown and white dog’s ordeal started.

The CCTV footage shows the pet being whipped with the handle of the lead several times, flinching at every sudden blow.

Sweep tried to flee the attack, but was stopped from running away because of his lead.

Nicholson then lifted up the dog by the lead, with the Jack Russell hanging in mid-air. His owner tied the top of the lead to a lamppost, and hung the pet there for a few seconds.

But Nicholson seemed to realise the upset he caused Sweep, and took him into his arms. He held the dog close, and peppered him with kisses.

On the walk home, with a petrified Sweep dragging behind on the lead, Nicholson violently yanked the lead, flinging his pet over several feet.

He then kicked Sweep in the side of his body.

An RSPCA report said: “The persistent nature of the behaviour has caused the dog unnecessary suffering, primarily physiological trauma.”

It adds: “The body language of the dog clearly showed that the dog was afraid and repeatedly tried to get away, but was restricted by the lead.”

Gwyndaf Pari, defending, said: “It was a one-off offence, one at the lower end of the scale, perhaps one that was impulsive and one after which he has shown genuine remorse.

“Since then, he has looked after the dog well.

“It is an animal clearly loved by Mr Nicholson.

“He has certainly learned his lesson since, and was dealing with the stress a relatively new job brought. It is something that worried him.”

Sentencing: fined £250 with £262 court costs. He was not banned from keeping animals and was allowed to keep Sweep.

Daily Post

Chatteris / March, Cambridgeshire: Bridget Cole and Peter Grant

#MostEvil | Bridget Louise Cole (aka Bridget Farley-Smith), born 17/11/1982, previously of Debden Green, Ely, Cambridgeshire but more recently (2019) of Whitemill Road, Chatteris PE16 6PG, and Peter John Grant, born 31/03/1986, of Station Road, Manea, March PE15 0HE – tortured a rabbit to death

Social media photos of Bridget Cole and Peter Grant
Animal torturers Bridget Cole and Peter Grant

Charity worker Bridget Cole, who was also a cub scout leader, laughed as she dunked a rabbit named Lucky in a bucket of bleach and water and hit him repeatedly with a metal pole. The male lop was also burned with a cigarette lighter during a sick party.

Evil rabbit torturer Bridget Cole from Cambridgeshire.
Bridget Cole pictured in 2021

Accomplice Peter Grant, who was tried separately, finally ended the rabbit’s agony by bludgeoning him to death with a glass bottle.

Cole had denied the charge of cruelly ill-treating Lucky and claimed she had tried to save him from the actions of others, but this cut no ice with the court who also noticed her lack of remorse.

Pet killer Peter Grant

Grant in the meantime claimed he had nothing to do with putting the rabbit in bleach and said he had hit him with a bottle to “put him out of his misery”.

Sentencing:
Cole – two-month suspended prison sentence; £1,500 costs. Banned from keeping any animal for 25 years (expires 2030).

Grant – 100 hours’ community service; £300 costs. Five-year ban (expired 2010).

BBC News

Morecambe, Lancashire: Rosalind Gregson

CONVICTED (2005) | Rosalind Gregson, born c. 1950, originally from Silverdale, Carnforth and as of 2018 living at 1 Laister Court, Bare Lane, Morecambe LA4 6LJ – kept 271 animals in her home in appalling conditions

In an extreme case of animal hoarding Rosalind Gregson, now of Laister Court in Morecambe, kept over 270 animals at her home
In an extreme case of animal hoarding Rosalind Gregson, now of Laister Court in Morecambe, kept over 270 animals at her home

Gregson originally faced 69 cruelty charges after RSPCA officers discovered 246 dogs, 16 birds, five cats, two kittens, a rabbit and a chinchilla when they raided her detached cottage in September 2003.

In an extreme case of animal hoarding Rosalind Gregson, now of Laister Court in Morecambe, kept over 270 animals at her home

She admitted nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering to two Yorkshire terriers, three Shih Tzus, a Bichon Frise, an Old English sheepdog, and two Lhasa Apsos.  Five of them had to be put to sleep to end their suffering.

A district judge at Preston magistrates’ court heard that when the RSPCA team raided Gregson’s £500,000 detached house at Silverdale, near Carnforth, Lancs, they were initially “overwhelmed” by the stench of ammonia and faeces. They found the animals living in virtually unlit, rat-infested rooms with little water and food. Most of the water they did have was contaminated with cat litter.

In an extreme case of animal hoarding Rosalind Gregson, now of Laister Court in Morecambe, kept over 270 animals at her home

District judge Peter Ward was shown an RSPCA video which showed officers viewing the “dismal and depressing conditions”. The camera pans from cage to cage, showing dogs barely able to sit up. One RSPCA officer is heard to say: “How can they live in this? This is appalling.”

Some of the dogs are lifted out of their cages and held up in view of the camera. One, a Maltese terrier, is shown with her fur matted with what appears to be excrement. An officer says: “She’s in a terrible state.”

Another, a Shih-tzu, has matted fur and appears emaciated. Its weakness and reluctance to stand is attributed by a vet to the muscle wasting in its hind legs. The animal was later put down.

An emaciated Yorkshire terrier had a discharge coming from both eyes. Few of its teeth remained, its nails were overgrown and it had a severe skin infection. It, too, had to be put down.

Tim Bergin, prosecuting, said: “It is not the prosecution case that she maliciously caused cruelty to the animals in her home; simply that she allowed her obsession to collect animals to overwhelm her.”

Gregson initially denied 49 counts of failing to provide the animals with necessary care and attention but later changed her plea and admitted nine counts of causing them unreasonable suffering.

In an extreme case of animal hoarding Rosalind Gregson, now of Laister Court in Morecambe, kept over 270 animals at her home

Gregson’s lawyer told the court her client’s obsessive animal collecting began when her son died from a drug overdose 15 years earlier. She said: “This is wholly about a tragic set of circumstances. It’s about sadness, it’s about isolation, it’s about the loss of a child, it’s about despair, it’s about obsession. The list just goes on and on.”

Asked why there were so many animals in the house, Gregson told police: “Because it got out of hand, its just an obsession, I couldn’t stop.”

RSPCA Inspector Sarah Hayland said the scene she found was beyond belief.

“It’s a normal looking property from the outside — and then to be faced with the room full of dogs.

“And we had no idea how many animals were in there, right until the second day when we’d been in all the rooms.

“It’s just the enormity of it, the amount of animals involved is something that I’ve never come across before and hope never to again”.

Sentencing:
Jailed for three months – later altered to a three year Community Rehabilitation Order. Disqualified from keeping animals for life.

Telegraph 19/5/2005
BBC News 10/6/2005

Shipley, Bradford: Karen Fox

CONVICTED (2005) | Karen Fox, born 31/05/1964, and as at November 2019 of 24 Haslam Grove, Shipley BD18 1PQ – tortured a six-week-old puppy before strangling him

Sadistic dog killer Karen Fox from Shipley, Bradford, UK
Karen Fox has a history of sadistic animal abuse

Bradford magistrates heard Karen Fox had also committed “evil” and “sickening” acts of cruelty against other animals in the past. They told Fox it was their duty to jail her.

Fox had admitted strangling to death the six-week-old Jack Russell puppy the day after she had bought him as a birthday present for her young daughter.

She wept uncontrollably as she was imprisoned for 60 days and was led away in hysterics.

The court was told Fox, who pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty, suffered from depression. Magistrates were urged by her solicitor not to jail her.

However, bench chairman Granville Dobson, passing sentence after reading a pre-sentence report, said: “You have harmed animals in the past in the most appalling fashion. The reports we have just read are beyond belief. The acts of evil described in them are sickening.

“This bench would not be filling its duty if it did not treat these offences extremely seriously.”

The court was told how Fox had killed the puppy the day after she had bought him for her daughter’s birthday. Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said Fox had bought the dog for £150 but attacked him when she could not get to sleep because of his crying.

It was alleged that sadistic Fox tortured the puppy before finally killing him by strangulation.

The court heard how the puppy’s body was found wrapped in a blood-stained towel by a neighbour who tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The RSPCA was called and Mr Monaghan said that when questioned Fox fully admitted what she had done.

Fox, then of Sutton Avenue, Swain House, Bradford, told the RSPCA: “It was whining and yelping. I picked it up and strangled it. I stopped when it had gone limp.”

Arshad Mahmood, mitigating, had urged the magistrates to impose a community penalty.

He said Fox, who had no previous convictions, suffered from a mental health condition known as emotional unstable personality disorder which makes her feel down all the time.

He said she had suffered from the condition since she was 15 and had twice tried to take her own life when she was aged 17.

Mr Mahmood told the magistrates that Fox was devastated by her actions but had been feeling extremely unwell at the time of the offence in August 2004 and has since been receiving treatment at Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford.

The court heard that Fox had been receiving hate mail since the court case began and that her 12-year-old daughter had been bullied at school as a result of the incident.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “This sentence is a significant indication that the court took this offence extremely seriously.

“It was a tragic and horrible incident but also an act of cruelty. This is not acceptable and clearly the court took that view as well.

“This type of cruelty to animals is very rare.

“The majority of cases dealt with by the RSPCA are people who have failed to do something for their animal.

“Instances of actual physical attacks on animals are in a minority although they are on the increase which is a worrying concern.”

Sentencing: jailed for 60 days. Banned from having custody of any animal for the rest of her life.

Telegraph & Argus

Bromsgrove, Worcestershire: Derek Monkton

CONVICTED (2005) | Derek Thomas Monkton, born c. 1943 (deceased as of December 2021*), of 49 Broad Street, Bromsgrove B61 8LL – kept three ponies in diabolical conditions.

Monkton pleaded guilty to charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the ponies.

The neglect suffered by the three young colts was so bad it resulted in one having to be put down because of the irreparable damage done by the growing tendons on his legs.

Chief Field Officer at the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) Paul Teasdale, speaking after the court hearing, said he had visited a property at Upton Warren on July 1, 2003.

“I visited this property with an RSPCA inspector, Simon Dix, and found three colts, virtually imprisoned, in filthy conditions, in tiny pens.

“The conditions these ponies were kept in was diabolical, filthy and disgusting,” he added.

The barn the ponies were kept in was described as ‘dark, airless and acrid with the smell of ammonia and droppings.’

“Their hooves had clearly not been trimmed for over 12 months, they were the worst feet I have ever seen,” said Mr Teasdale.

The other two ponies have been left unrideable because of their distorted lower limbs.

Monkton agreed to sign the ponies over to the ILPH and they were taken to the Glenda Spooner Farm, at Hoarwithy, in Herefordshire.

No evidence was brought against Victoria Jean Manns, of the same address, who was also charged with the same offence.

Sentencing: concurrent seven-week custodial sentence. Banned from keeping domestic animals for life.

Worcester News


*Update | December 2021

Derek Monkton, who went on to breach his lifetime ban and cause more harm to animals, died on 8 December 2021.

We collate data on animal cruelty convictions in the UK