Sponsored by
Rare birds' eggs case goes to High Court
A MAN accused of unlawfully possessing almost 1,000 bird eggs will have his case heard at the High Court.
John Dodsworth appeared before South Tyne-side magistrates yesterday to deny illegal possession of the eggs and 12 stuffed animals.
The collection was discovered in October 2006 when police raided his home in Rodin Avenue, Whiteleas, South Shields.
His defence has now applied to the High Court to see if the case can be dropped because of what they say is an abuse of process.
Dodsworth's defence team claims too much time has passed since the eggs were seized for there to be a fair trial.
Guy Shorrock, senior investigating officer for the RSPB, said: "We are hoping to pursue the case as long as we have the backing of the Crown Prosecution Service, which we do.
"Mr Dodsworth's case has taken so long to get to court because of other matters that had to be dealt with in relation to the discoveries at his home.
"Some of the bird eggs that were found were extremely rare, belonging to black-necked grebes, of which there are only 60 pairs in the country."
In October, Dodsworth was cleared by a crown court jury of buying protected eggs and birds discovered in the same raid.
He pleaded not guilty to buying golden eagle, honey buzzard and Egyptian vulture eggs, as well as a stuffed Montagu's harrier, four owls, a marsh harrier and a honey buzzard.
A Newcastle Crown Court jury acquitted him of three counts of buying protected specimens.
He'd earlier pleaded guilty to two offences of buying birds he claimed he thought were Victorian, but were actually more recent, and was given a nine-month conditional discharge.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for South Shields
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South
