Farmer cleared of sheep theft
A case against a farmer accused of stealing sheep was thrown out after his defence team produced DNA evidence confirming the sheep were his own.
Arrested while filming BBC show Countryside 999 last year, Ross Hutchinson endured a year-long battle to clear his name, amassing £15,000 in legal costs.
The police were accused of being 'seriously distracted' by filming the television show by Hutchinson's solicitor, Simon Catterall.
'Certainly, if as much attention was given to the evidence as to the cameras the case would have folded a long time ago,' he told the Northern Echo. 'The DNA testing proves that these sheep were Mr Hutchinson's all along. The case should never have reached court.'
Hutchinson's woolmarks were on the sheep, but he thinks the ear tags had been switched before he was accused of theft.
At Durham Crown Court the prosecution had no answer after defence solicitors produced the DNA data, resulting in a formal not guilty verdict being recorded by the judge.
However, this was only after Hutchinson had spent thousands of pounds on legal costs that he will not be able to recover.
The police are no strangers to embarrassment in cases involving animals following the 'tiger porn' case. What animal will be next?
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