A poacher has been fined £1,200 for killing a red stag.

Gwierydd Williams, 54, shot the deer in a field off Brooks Lane, Bosley during the ‘close season’, a time period when shooting deer is illegal in order to allow them to breed and move between breeding and wintering grounds.

Williams claimed the stag was in distress due to an injury to its rear leg.

But witnesses who confronted Williams as he was loading the deer in the back of a 4x4 disputed this and he was found guilty after a trial at Stockport Magistrates Court.

Williams, of Queens Drive, Biddulph, was fined £1,293 after the trial on January 9.

PC Ric Walker, from Cheshire Constabulary’s rural and wildlife crime unit, said: “The guilty verdict and fine, sends a clear message to anyone thinking of committing this kind of offence. We have specially trained officers who have the skills and knowledge to pursue those who commit rural and wildlife crimes.

“We are also very grateful to the witnesses who came forward to report the crime and confronted Williams whilst he was putting the deer in the back of a 4x4.

“If anyone witnesses anything similar or suspicious then please contact Cheshire Constabulary on 101, or 999 if it is an emergency.”local news