Rare bird eggs thief is jailed

AN obsessive man who illegally collected thousands of birds’ eggs has been jailed.

Daniel Lingham, 65, dressed head to toe in camouflage gear before stealing the eggs of rare species from nature reserves.

When police arrested him, he was carrying a wooden catapult, binoculars and tree climbing “crampon-style” boots.

He told officers: “I’ve been a silly man, haven’t I?” A search of his home revealed 5,250 eggs from rare birds, including nightingales, woodlarks and kingfishers.

Norwich magistrates heard Lingham took eggs from 134 locations in Norfolk.

The eggs were from 298 different birds, 53 of which were highly endangered.

Sentencing Lingham, of Newton St Faith, Norfolk, to 18 weeks in jail, magistrate Darren Gilkes said: “They [the eggs] can never be recovered.”