Phillip Martins, 46, of Somerford Walk, Widnes given suspended prison sentence (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

Phillip Martins, 46, of Somerford Walk, Widnes given suspended prison sentence

12:20pm Thursday 26th November 2009

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A WIDNES man who admitted hoarding hundreds of wild bird eggs has been given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Phillip Martins, aged 46, of Somerford Walk, has also been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs.

He admitted two offences at an earlier hearing in October and was sentenced by Halton magistrates last week.

Police officers discovered the stash of wild bird eggs at his house on April 24, 2009.

They found a variety of eggs hidden in two chests of drawers.

The eggs were confiscated and examined by a specialist investigator from the RSPB.

They included eggs from a barn owl, black redstart, Dartford warbler, little tern and quail.

Martin Findlow, Cheshire Police’s wildlife and rural crime officer, said: “The sentence given to Mr Martins reflects the gravity of the offences he pleaded guilty to.

“I hope this sends a message out to others involved in such crimes that they will be prosecuted for offences under the Wildlife adn Countryside Act 1981.”

Inspector Sharon Case, of Widnes Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said: “On this occasion, the discovery of hundreds of wild bird eggs was made thanks to vital information which was passed on to us.

“Officers were amazed at the number and range of eggs recovered from the property.

“Protecting wi wildlife is important and the people of Widnes can rest assured that we will always take positive action when information is received in relation to such offences.”

Anyone with information about this type of crime can call Cheshire Police on 0845 458 000 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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