Four men have been convicted of poaching in North Yorkshire.

Three of them were convicted at court. David Gibney, 35-years-old was fined £200. Joshua Silver, 19-years-old was fined £440 and Paul Gibney, 21-years-old was fined £440. They were also made to pay a victim surcharge.

Andrew Clarke, 35-years-old, pleaded guilty by post and was made to pay £85.00 and a victim surcharge.

All four of them were from Cumbria and were convicted of daytime trespass in pursuit of game.

The men were seen on farmland in Leyburn at 10am on Monday, October 24.

Witnesses saw them acting suspiciously and alerted the police. North Yorkshire Police say officers immediately attended the location and found the men. They recovered a bag containing several dead rabbits.

Inspector Clive Turner from the Rural Task Force said: “Anyone thinking of coming to North Yorkshire to commit poaching offences should know that this behaviour will simply not be tolerated.

“We’re working hand-in-hand with our rural communities. We rely on residents to call in suspicious activity, and we will take such reports extremely seriously. Illegal poachers will find it extremely difficult to enter and leave North Yorkshire unchallenged.”