Man sentenced for trespassing with firearm on private land
A man from Walsall has been sentenced to two hundred hours of unpaid work after he was caught trespassing on private land in Bridgnorth with a firearm.
The 28-year-old was sentenced at Telford Magistrates Court on Friday 26 November for trespassing on land with an air weapon and for possessing a loaded or unloaded air weapon in a public place. He first appeared in court on October 15 where he was found guilty.
The defendant was caught trespassing on the Davenport Estate in Bridgnorth back in November 2020 after the gamekeeper heard gunshots coming from the woods at around 8.45pm. On further investigation, two men were found hiding on the estate and one of them was also caught carrying a loaded air rifle.
Police were then called where they carried out further inspections of the area and located the defendant’s car which contained another air rifle. Both firearms were then seized by officers.
The defendant claimed he was given permission to hunt pigeons on the private land, but was unable to provide details of who had given him the permission.
The case was then referred to West Mercia Police’s Rural, Business Crime and Wildlife Team, who built a case for trespassing and trespassing with a firearm.
PC Phillip Nock of West Mercia Police said: “We welcome the outcome of this case and are pleased with the sentencing that was handed down. Generally speaking, convictions relating to wildlife crimes in the UK remains relatively low, so this is a really positive outcome and we hope this will lead as an example to anyone who doesn’t think there are consequences to this sort of crime.”
He will now be expected to carry out two hundred hours of unpaid work, as well as pay £715 in court fees and also surrender his firearms for destruction.
The second man who was also caught with the defendant did not face any further action.
