South Tyneside man shot squirrels from the bushes of Jarrow cemetery

James Hope, 35, of Red House Road, Hebburn, blasted at them with a gun given to him as a Christmas present.

But a dog walker in Jarrow Cemetery tipped off police and Hope was found walking from bushes with the weapon in a bag on Friday, January 19.

He has been left biting the bullet of his first conviction after being charged and hauled before a judge.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to having a loaded air rifle in public.

Prosecutor Carolyn Craggs said: “A police constable was met at the scene by a member of the public who was walking his dog.

“He said he had seen a male and a female, and that the male had been firing at squirrels, towards the trees, and he pointed out the direction.

“The officer came towards the man, who was walking out of bushes about 20m away.

“It appeared that the black scope of a gun had been securely stored in a bag. The officer spoke to the defendant.

“The defendant admitted that he had been firing the rifle in the area. He said it was a present from Christmas.

“He said he should just have gone to some private land where a friend would have let him use it legally.

“The defendant doesn’t have any previous convictions and he will lose his good character.”

Hope had spent a night in the cells after being arrested on a warrant, having inadvertently failed to attend his planned day in court, it was said.

Joanne Gatens, defending, said Hope had been firing while in a remote field in a quiet part of the cemetery.

But she added: “He recognises he should have been on private land. It is a guilty plea. He has lost his good character now.”

District Judge Zoe Passfield sentenced Hope to a 12-month conditional discharge, with £85 court costs and a £26 victim surcharge and warned him to stay out of trouble.

She said: “I give you credit for your guilty plea and for the fact you have no previous convictions.”