Shepherd’s ‘David and Goliath’ victory over police
A SHEPHERD has won a pay-out after a court ruled that dozens of his sheep were unlawfully seized by police.
Jeremy Awdry, 71, is set to receive £2,538 in compensation from Gloucestershire Police and Forest of Dean District Council. About 55 of his flock were taken from two locations in the village of Bream in the Forest of Dean under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, which allows impounding of sheep “found at large in any street”.
But Judge Robert Harrison at Cardiff Civil Justice Centre ruled that it was unlawful for the sheep to have been taken because the police and district council had pre-planned the seizure, which is forbidden under the Act.
They will now have to cover their own legal costs as well as a proportion of Mr Awdry’s for the six-day court case. It is believed to be the first time use of the Act has been challenged.
Mr Awdry, who still tends to a flock of 80 sheep, said it was a “David versus Goliath victory”. Ten years ago he was placed under a five-year ASBO, banning his flock from Bream, after his sheep were reportedly straying into gardens and damaging fences.
A spokesman for Forest of Dean district council said it had acted “in good faith” following numerous complaints from Bream residents that sheep were causing damaging their gardens, adding: “We removed the animals to give the residents some respite.”
A spokesman for Gloucestershire police said that after the sheep were seized they were auctioned off because a fine and police expenses claim sent to Mr Awdry were not paid.