CONVICTED (2023) | Kevin Skelding, born c. 1983, of Liz Clare Court, Donnington, Telford TF2 7RB, Craig John Richards, born 10 August 1974, of 109 Harrold Road, Rowley Regis B65 0RL, and his brother Scott Richards, born c. 1989 and of the same address: caught armed with dogs to hunt hares.
Persistent wildlife persecutors Kevin Skelding, Craig Richards (also a convicted benefits fraudster) and Scott Richards, who are all well-known to rural crime police officers, admitted trespassing in pursuit of game and being equipped to hunt hares with dogs.
The court heard that a member of the public called police on October 28 2022, after spotting the three men with lurcher dogs on land in Market Drayton, north Shropshire.
Police sent an armed response unit and scrambled the force helicopter.
At the scene, officers found an unattended Kia Sportage.
Skelding and Craig Richards were found hiding in a wooded area and arrested.
Scott Richards was found in a location away from the other two. The lurcher dogs were found with the vehicle.
The three were found to be in possession of a catapult and ball bearings as well as slip leads. They claimed they were just walking their dogs.
Sentencing | Craig Richards was ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work while Scott Richards was ordered to do 120 hours and Skelding 100 hours. All three men were ordered to pay £624 each towards kennelling costs.
Bit Of Work The Scum Want.
They wouldn’t have the energy to go out Hunting with Dogs, or whatever else they have been up to before they were caught.
Scum such as this shouldn’t keep Dogs, they should be Banned from Keeping Animals.