CONVICTED (2020) | Derek ‘Deka’ Wildish, born c. 1971, and Alison Hall (aka Alison Crowe), born c. 1968, both of High Road, Middlestone, Bishop Auckland DL14 8AE – hid a dying horse under a pile of branches

Derek Wildish, a horse trader specialising in Welsh cobs, and Alison Hall were banned from keeping horses after a bay gelding was found collapsed on the ground, barely alive and covered with branches.

An RSPCA inspector who went to investigate concerns about the welfare of two horses, kept between Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, found one so poorly he was unable to get up off the ground and appeared to have been hidden under the branches. Sadly the horse, known as Brian, had to be euthanised to end his suffering.

The other, a stallion called Janton, was removed from the scene by police and has made a good recovery.

Owners Wildish and Hall were convicted of allowing their two horses to fall into a state of neglect and causing unnecessary suffering to the animals.

Hall pleaded guilty and Wildish was found guilty after a trial.

The court heard that the RSPCA was contacted in February 2019 by locals who had concerns for two horses.

An inspector visited the location where the horses were being kept on Low Road, Middlestone, between Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, and found one horse collapsed, covered in branches, and a second in a poor body condition.

Sentencing:
Wildish – 18 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years; 250 hours of unpaid work; ordered to pay £822.
Hall – 14 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for two years; 25 rehabilitation days; ordered to pay £262.
Both defendants were disqualified from keeping horses for seven years.

Northern Echo