Men admit killing sheep with banger explosive

Footage of the attack was found on a mobile phone (stock image)

Two men have admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal after a sheep died in an "appalling act of cruelty" on the South Downs.

Leighton Ashby, 31, and Oakley Hollands, 20, were charged after "bangers" - explosives designed to make a loud noise and scare off birds - were used to fatally injure the sheep in a field near Ditchling Beacon on 2 November, 2023.

Ashby, of Beckett Road in Ashford, Kent, and Hollands, of Mussenden Lane in Horton Kirby, Kent, pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The pair will be sentenced at the same court in October.

Sussex Police said Ashby and Hollands were chasing sheep in the field, before catching one and violently assaulting it with bangers, causing catastrophic injuries.

Footage of Ashby carrying out the attack was found on Hollands' phone as well as videos of an unidentified person attacking both live and deceased animals, the force said.

The ear tags of the sheep that was killed were found in a nearby property.

The attack was reported to police on 6 November, 2023. Ashby and Hollands were arrested two days later.

Supt Rachel Swinney said: "This was an appalling act of cruelty on a defenceless animal, filmed by the perpetrators for their own gratification.

"We remain committed to protecting our rural communities and will continue to work with our partners to clamp down on rural crime."