CONVICTED (2023) | Lewis Hill, born c. 2000, of Collett Place, Latton, Swindon SN6 6EH – threw a firework towards police officers, injuring four of them and a police dog.
Football thug Lewis Hill injured a police dog and four officers after launching an exploding firework at them.
Hill threw the firework towards a group of police officers ahead of Swindon Town’s clash with Bristol Rovers on 22 January 2022.
The firework exploded at the feet of the four officers, causing minor injuries, while PD Ross suffered burns to his nose. Ross has since returned to work as a police dog.
Ross suffered burns to his nose but has now returned to his duties as a police dog with Wiltshire Police
In court, Hill admitted one count of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and four counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
Hill was tracked down through CCTV and witness statements, Wiltshire Police said.
Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, Catherine Roper, said: “To throw a firework towards any group of people is an incredibly reckless and dangerous act.
“Assaults against police officers and police animals will never be tolerated.
“If you assault an officer or any other emergency services worker then be prepared to be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”
Dog unit manager Ian Partington said: “It is pleasing to see that Mr Hill has been jailed for his actions and that offences against officers and police dogs are taken seriously.
“Thankfully PD Ross has been able to continue his career and is performing well as a police dog.”
Sentencing | four months’ imprisonment. Three-year football banning order.
CONVICTED (2021) | Victoria Taylor, aka Victoria Woodrow, born c. 1973, of 2 Ingledew Close, Oakwood, Derby DE21 2WA – locked her elderly Staffy outside of her home, leaving the dog collapsed and terrified as fireworks went off around her.
An RSPCA inspector found underweight 18-year-old Staffy Missy cowering under a bush in the pouring rain as fireworks went off around her. She was very cold, covered in mange and had a painful untreated eye infection. She was also emaciated.
Now Missy’s owner, Victoria Taylor, has been banned from keeping animals for five years.
The court heard how the RSPCA were called to Taylor’s address on Saturday, November 1, 2020 after a member of the public reported seeing a collapsed animal in the garden.
Inspector Rachel Leafe was sent to the property that evening but there was no one inside the house, so she went to a neighbour’s garden and could see a very underweight elderly dog curled up under a bush in the dirt.
Inspector Leafe said: “I used a ladder to look over the fence into the garden.
“Here, directly beneath me, lay curled up under a bush on the dirt an elderly looking, very underweight medium-sized dog.
“There were odd sprigs of fur, enough for me to tell she should have been tan or red in colour. The whole body was covered in what looked to be mange.
“I could see there was no man-made shelter at all available for her. The back door to the property was shut so she could not get inside. I could not see any food or water or any empty bowls.
“I whistled to her and she eventually, very reluctantly, stiffly and unsteadily got up and walked a few yards before lying back down on the wet ground.”
Rachel said it was a cold night, pouring down with rain, and fireworks were going off so she called Derbyshire police to attend and Missy was rushed to a vet for emergency treatment.
An expert independent vet said in a report: “She was severely emaciated with a body score of 1.5 on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being the thinnest body condition.
“She had a severe dry eye.
“The condition is caused by the body reacting to its own tears as part of an immune reaction.
“This condition is extremely painful and both corneas were inflamed and cloudy.
“She had long pointy nails showing that she had little or no exercise for some time.”
Missy underwent weeks of treatment during RSPCA care but by December 3 new lumps and tumours were appearing all over her body and it was found she had an aggressive form of lymphoma cancer, and had just a few weeks to live.
A vet decided the kindest thing to do was to put Missy to sleep, to end her suffering, while she was still under general anaesthetic.
Taylor pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Sentencing | 12-month community order, with 15 rehabilitation sessions, a total of £542 in costs, fines and charges. Five-year ban on keeping animals (expires June 2026).
CONVICTED (2020) | Robert Colin Phillips, born c. 1993, of Parkhill Road, Wellswood, Torquay TQ1 2AL – caught on camera mistreating his pet dog.
Dog abuser Rob Phillips from Torquay
Phillips, who works as a head chef at the Orange Tree Restaurant in Torquay, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the dog, a springer spaniel known as Bella.
The young dog ran off from Phillips after being startled by fireworks. When he caught up with her, he hit her in the neck twice before taking hold of her by the scruff of her neck and dangling her in the air. Part of the attack was caught on CCTV.
Phillips with the dog he abused, Bella
A man saw Phillips strike Bella several times with some force. She then escaped a second time and re-appeared at the feet of the witness who took her into a restaurant to look after her while the police were called.
The RSPCA say Bella is currently in a foster home with another dog that she loves.
Sentencing: 12 month community order involving 100 hours of unpaid work; a total of £390 costs and charges. Banned from owning dogs for three years (expires October 2023).
Phillips was back in court after being charged with breaching his disqualification order “by participating in the keeping and from being party to an arrangement under which could control or influence the way dogs are kept.” He pleaded not guilty but was convicted. He was fined £161 and ordered to pay costs of £775.
CONVICTED (2017) | Robert Muir, born 3 April 1967, of Sandycombe Road, Richmond upon Thames TW9 – killed a duck by wringing its neck.
Police were called by shocked bystanders who witnessed Glaswegian Robert Muir launching the random attack on the bank of the River Thames at about 6pm on May 25, 2016.
CCTV footage showed Muir enticing the mallard duck with food before he grabbed it and broke its neck.
Muir picked up the bird for a second time and twisted its neck again before dumping its dead body in a bin in front of horrified families.
Steven Mould defending Muir said: “He feels [the duck] was suffering and in distress and saw others were concerned about this and he did what he did.
“He comes from a hunting background and took no pleasure in it, he did not enjoy it, there’s no emotion at all from Mr Muir, he felt his actions were noble and appropriate.
“He has a drink problem and suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after serving in the military in Northern Ireland in the 1980s.”
But this was rejected by magistrates at trial who found the bird was moving freely and made numerous attempts to avoid Muir before he captured it.
The court heard Muir has 18 previous convictions for 24 offences including ABH in 2012 in which he was jailed for six months and setting fireworks off in the street the same year.
Detective Constable Sarah Bailey from the Met’s Wildlife and Crime Unit said: “Muir lured over a female Mallard duck with food in full view of members of the public.
“Ducks in Richmond are well accustomed to human interaction. Muir has used this to cruelly entice and kill this wild duck. There was no element of sport or necessity, but it was a callous, random act of cruelty.
“I hope today’s sentence serves as a reminder that wild birds are protected and animal cruelty is unacceptable and we will always pursue those who inflict harm and break clear Wildlife and Countryside legislation.”
Sentencing | 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months; 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement; £415 costs and charges.
