10:00am Thursday 26th August 2010
By Wendy Barlow
A VICIOUS lout who battered a sheep to death with a plank of wood has been jailed.
Wayne Robert Reid, 21, had been so drunk when he set about the defenceless animal in a farmer’s field he could remember nothing about it.
Reid, who had been out with his Staffordshire bull terrier/collie cross, was arrested after being found incoherent and covered in blood.
His girlfriend's mobile phone was beside the body, Burnley Magistrates heard.
The hearing was told the sheep was repeatedly hit over the head in the early hours attack and a vet gave the cause of death as a smashed skull and brain damage caused by being struck with a blunt instrument.
The one-year-old animal, also thought to have been mauled by a dog, suffered multiple injuries.
It had lost a lot of its wool, both horns were broken and there were shards of glass all over it.
A police officer called to the scene took photos of the mangled carcass on his bodycam and they were shown to the magistrates.
Reid, of Edmondson Street, Barnoldswick, whose family described him as “not a heavy drinker” and an animal lover, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 13.
Bench chairman Mrs Pamela Parker said the sheep had been tortured and added: "The animal was obviously beaten for a considerable period of time."
The defendant, now the father of a two-month-old child, sobbed as he was told he was going to prison for 126 days. He had no previous convictions.
Joanne Close, prosecuting, said at about 3.20am a couple living near the field in Barnoldswick were awoken and saw four or five men apparently herding sheep.
They called farmer William Hartley, who had been looking after the sheep in winter for someone else. He then found Reid in the field.
David Lawson, for Reid, said others were clearly involved. Three other youths were interviewed but not charged.
He said Reid was appalled and ashamed at what he had done, was of limited intelligence and may have been influenced by others.
He had drunk 15 to 16 cans of lager and possibly vodka but would say he did not have a problem with alcohol.
The solicitor added that since the incident Reid had been shunned by the community in Barnoldswick.
He said: “Nobody will speak to him. His grandparents have not spoken to him since his arrest and that has caused him hurt and anguish."
Speaking after the case Mr Hartley, of Greenberfield Lane, said he had been looking after the sheep for someone else through the winter.
He received a call from a neighbour at around 3am on February 13 to say there were four young men trying to catch one of the animals.
He said: “The animal was a real mess. We have known dogs get into sheep before, but that happens. For humans to go out and do it is barbaric.”
A Lancashire Police spokesman welcomed the sentence.
He said: “This was an unnecessary act of cruelty and I am pleased Reid has been punished for his actions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.”
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