'Premier league' bird
egg collector Marcus Betteridge fined £1,000 for disturbing rare Dartford
warbler's nest
Seymour Crang also
fined £1,000 for unlawful possession of wild birds' eggs
Two 'premier league'
bird egg collectors have been fined for stealing hundreds of rare eggs after a
two year police investigation to find the culprits.
'Obsessive' collectors
Marcus Betteridge, 52, and Seymour Crang, 49, built up a unique collection of
rare eggs after stealing them from the nests of birds including lesser redpolls,
tree pipits and redshanks.
Police raided their
homes after a two year joint investigation with the RSPCA and National Wildlife
Crime Unit and discovered hundreds of eggs, collecting equipment, photographs
and diaries relating to activities at nest sites.
Five eggs of a lesser
redpoll, four of a tree pipit, five linnet eggs and one of a redshank, all kept
in a cotton-wool lined ice cream carton were found at the home of Crang.
Police also
discovered a diary belonging to Mr Betteridge which contained hundreds of pages
with detailed notes covering more than a decade of activity.
Newton Abbot Magistrates
Court heard Crang and Betteridge are 'premier league' and 'obsessional' egg
thieves with a 'twisted psyche'.
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