CONVICTED (2017) | Liam Paul Barker, born 16/08/1994, from Spennymoor, John Thomas Fenwick, born 15/03/1994, from St Helen Auckland, Conor William Goodfellow (aka Conor Hughes), born c. 1995, from West Auckland, and Joshua Adam Lee, born c. 1997, from St Helen Auckland – convicted of poaching offences
Joshua Adam Lee, Conor William Goodfellow, John Tom Fenwick plus Liam Paul Barker were convicted of poaching offences and ordered to pay more than £700 in total, thanks to vigilance from a member of the public.
On October 10 2016, a silver Subaru Forester car was spotted around the Richmond area of North Yorkshire and was eventually seen by a witness in Patrick Brompton, near Leyburn. The witness noticed men poaching with dogs on private land.
Officers stopped four men who were all interviewed and reported for summons for daytime poaching offences.
On February 3, 2017, the four men all pleaded guilty to daytime poaching at Northallerton Magistrates Court.
Goodfellow was ordered to pay fines, a victim surcharge and costs of £155. Barker, Lee and Fenwick were each ordered to pay fines, a victim surcharge and costs of £198.
Wildlife crime officer PC Mark Wood, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “This was a good result and we are grateful that a witness came forward and reported this to the police.
“It shows that people do not like the idea of hares being destroyed by dogs in this way, and local farmers don’t appreciate people trespassing over their land to do it. We will continue to deal robustly with crimes of this nature, and I urge anyone to report incidents like this to the police.”