Two livestock keepers from Over, have been banned from keeping farm animals for five years after inspectors found horses, pigs, sheep and goats living in shocking conditions at a Cambridgeshire smallholding.
Over residents William Dickinson, 27, of no fixed abode, and Tara Thorneycroft, 56, of Hilton Street, admitted 19 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Animal Health Act 1981.
The pair, who kept livestock at Greengage Farm in Impington, were sentenced at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on May 6 following a successful prosecution by Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards.
Both were handed 12-month Community Orders requiring 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £2,000 costs each. They were also disqualified from owning or keeping animals other than cats and dogs for five years.
Trading Standards officers visited the farm nine times from April 2024 onwards after concerns were raised about animal welfare.
Despite repeated advice, inspectors said serious breaches continued.
During inspections carried out in temperatures reaching 28C and 30C, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry were found without water, while horses, donkeys and sheep had little or no grazing available.
Inspectors also discovered horses and donkeys being kept in hazardous environments, with one horse found lame. Pigs were repeatedly found without bedding or a wallow.
A further inspection just days before the first court hearing found horses, pigs, sheep and goats standing in thick mud with no dry lying area and no water.
Peter Gell, Head of Service for Cambridgeshire County Council’s Trading Standards team, said officers had provided “extensive advice” over a prolonged period but conditions failed to improve.
He said prosecution became “the only remaining recourse to protect the animals”.
Greengage Farm describes itself on Instagram as providing “livestock and rural contracting services” and sharing updates on “current projects and livestock”.
