25 charged in major hare coursing and disorder investigation across Cambridgeshire

Detectives have now charged 25 individuals as part of an ongoing investigation into hare coursing and violent disorder that took place across Cambridgeshire in January.

The charges follow a series of coordinated arrests and seizures made in connection with a force-led investigation into widespread criminal activity on Saturday, 25 January.

The events, which included reports of hare coursing, criminal damage, and dangerous driving, caused significant disruption and concern in communities including Fordham, Ely, Prickwillow, Littleport, Welney, Chatteris, Manea, Wimblington and Doddington.

Supported by Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Thames Valley, West Mercia, Leicestershire, West Midlands, Northampton and Essex Police, as well as the National Rural Crime Unity (NRCU) and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, Cambridgeshire officers have carried out extensive inquiries in the weeks and months since, including arrest warrants across multiple counties.

A total of 43 individuals have been arrested and one juvenile voluntarily interviewed. Of those, 25 have been charged with a combination of 39 offences and will appear in court in September:

1. Quie Doherty, 19, of Gipsy Lane, Wellingborough, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
2. Benjamin Lee, 27, of High Meadow Farm, Melton Road, Barrow Upon Soar, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
3. Samuel Sheady, 45, of Heol Cefnydd, Wrexham has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
4. Miles Doran, 34, of Barlestone Road, Bagworth and Thornton, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
5. Roy Lee, 26, of Barrowby Vale, Grantham, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event, failing to comply with a traffic signal, driving a vehicle with the registration mark obscured and driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous condition. He will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
6. Anthony Coyle, 32, of Pilgrims Lane, Grays, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
7. Francis Coyle, 19, of Pilgrims Lane, Grays, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
8. Francie Doherty, 47, of Gipsy Lane, Wellingborough, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
9. Mark Harris, 20, of Romany Way Clay Lake, Spalding, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
10. Michael Stevenson, 25, of Fen Road, Cambridge, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
11. Bobby-James Harris, 18, of Romany Way Clay Lake, Spalding, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
12. John Lee, 23, of Fen Road, Cambridge, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and breaching a community protection notice and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
13. Mark Harris Senior, 48, of Romany Way Clay Lake, Spalding, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
14. Tom Bower, 27, of Beck Bank, Spalding, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event, failing to comply with a traffic signal, driving a vehicle with the registration mark obscured and driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous condition. He will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
15. Francie Lee, 22, of Fen Road, Cambridge, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
16. James Herne, 24, of Fen Road, Cambridge, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
17. Edward Stevenson, 26, of Fen Road, Cambridge, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
18. Mark Loveridge, 45, of Milton Close, Slough, has been charged with driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous condition and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
19. Fredrick Butcher, 51, of Chelmsford Road, Ingatestone, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
20. William Deadman Senior, 47, of Bickenhill Lane, Solihull, has been charged with theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
21. Freddy-Cole Butcher, 22, of Chelmsford Road, Ingatestone, has been charged with theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
22. Levi Lee, 36, of Basingstoke Road, Reading, has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
23. A 13-year-old boy, from Solihull, has been charged with theft from a shop, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and driving with no insurance. He will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 September.
24. Tony Taylor, 23, of Sandy Lane, Stourport on Severn, has been charged with theft from a shop and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 12 September.
25. A 26-year-old man (address unknown) has been charged with attending a hare coursing event and making off without payment. A first instance warrant has been issued.

A further 17 people have been issued with Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices

• Not to be in possession of, be in control of, or be in the company of any dog on private land without the owner’s written permission.
• When in possession of, in control of, or in the company of any dog, said dog must be on a lead.
• Not to be in a vehicle with any dog, whilst outside of a five-mile radius of your home address, unless for a pre-arranged veterinary appointment.
• Not to be in possession of a catapult or shot, such as ball bearing, and/or an air weapon or any part of an air weapon.
• You must not drive or be conveyed in a mechanically propelled vehicle onto private fields or agriculture field belonging to another person without written permission presentable to an officer.
• You must not use any public spaces, footpaths, bridleways or other such like areas belonging to the Local Authority or another unspecified person with the intention to hare course.
• You must not shout at, swear at, or intimidate any persons in the seven counties of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent.

1. A 39-year-old man from Lutterworth has been issued with a CPW.
2. A 27-year-old man from Nottingham has been issued with a CPW.
3. A 26-year-old man from Wellingborough has been issued with a CPN.
4. A 43-year-old man from Wellingborough has been issued with a CPW.
5. A 21-year-old man from Slough has been issued with a CPW.
6. A 37-year-old man from Eastleigh has been issued with a CPW.
7. A 47-year-old man from Solihull has been issued with a CPN
8. A 26-year-old man from Melton Mowbray has been issued with a CPW
9. A 28-year-old man from Colchester has been issued with a CPN
10. A 17-year-old boy from Staines-Upon-Thames has been issued with a CPW.
11. A 22-year-old man from Stourport-on-Severn has been issued with a CPW.
12. A 22-year-old man from Ingatestone has been issued with a CPW
13. A 19-year-old man from Slough has been issued with a CPN.
14. A 21-year-old man from Slough has been issued with a CPW.
15. A 23-year-old man from Stourport has been issued with a CPW.
16. A 40-year-old man from Stourport-on-Severn has been issued with a CPW.
17. A 17-year-old boy from Ingatestone has been issued with a CPW

Detective Inspector Matthew Selves, who has led the investigation, said: “We do not underestimate the impact January’s events had on our communities and the devastation they left behind. From the outset, we committed to a thorough investigation, and the charging of 25 individuals demonstrates the scale of our response and determination to hold those responsible to account.”