FOUR poachers are having to get rid of their family pets and pay at least £1,490 each after they were convicted of illegal animal hunting in Ryedale.

York Magistrates' Court heard that the four had travelled more than 60 miles from their homes in the middle of the night in a Jeep before they damaged crops near Birdsall by driving over them and shone a very powerful lamp into fields that reflected off the cloud cover.

Geoff Ellis, prosecuting, said after the four were convicted: “There is a significant problem with poachers coming into North Yorkshire and the local area, driving over the fields and causing damage to crops. It can be more than a year before the crops can be grown again.”

James Willoughby, who runs Birdsall Estate, gave evidence that he was on the lookout for poachers on November 19 and first spotted the four at about 1.25am.

They appeared to be driving over fields using a very powerful lamp that reflected off the sky.

He said he rang 999 and followed them from Birdsall to and through Malton while talking to police control until they were stopped by a police officer.

He then took photos of what he described as “fresh” tyre marks in a field planted with cereals on his estate which he showed to the court.

Mr Ellis, opening the prosecution, said the Jeep was muddy as if it had been off road and the four had at least three dogs with them.

Michael Daley, 31, Stephen William Gales, 40, Liam Weston, 32, and Anthony Hull, 36, all claimed in evidence they had only travelled from their Hartlepool homes to walk dogs.

All four claimed the dogs in the Jeep were springer spaniels and denied knowing who they belonged to. Each denied hunting animals and using a strong lamp. Each pleaded not guilty to a charge of night poaching.

Magistrates convicted all of them.

Each defendant then claimed they had at least two family pet dogs at home, none of which were springer spaniels or breeds used by poachers. Magistrates banned each from owning or keeping dogs for two years and gave them 28 days to find new homes for their pets.

Daley, of Owton Manor Lane, must pay £1,492, consisting of a £623 fine, a £249 statutory surcharge and £620 prosecution costs. Hull, 36, of Oxford Road, who was driving the Jeep and who had a previous similar conviction, must pay £1,722, consisting of a £787 fine, a £315 statutory surcharge and £620 prosecution costs. Gales, of Thackeray Road, must pay £1,698 consisting of a £770 fine, a £308 statutory surcharge and £620 prosecution costs. Weston, of Dryden Road, must pay £1,565, consisting of a £675 fine, a £270 statutory surcharge and £620 prosecution costs.