Young farmer fined after destructive rampage

A young farmer who took part in a destructive rampage at a farm in Shropshire has been ordered to pay £1,386 by magistrates.

Harry Dalton, 21, from Norton, Shifnal, was charged with criminal damage to property worth about £5,000 and appeared at Telford Magistrates’ Court on 2 December.

A second man, Simon Jordan, 35, of Oldbury Wells, Bridgnorth, was also on trial over the same incident and charged with two counts of criminal damage to property valued at less than £5,000.

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But Mr Jordan could not attend the court because he was complying with Covid-19 quarantine restrictions after visiting Turkey.

The charges related to an incident in April 2020 when a farmer John Huxley of Whixall, Shropshire, ordered feed worth £1,600 from LH Dalton and Son, according to a report by the Whitchurch Herald.

But, Mr Huxley did not meet payment deadlines. On 22 April, Mr Jordan and Mr Dalton visited Mr Huxley’s farm, where they tried to hitch one of the farm’s trailers to their pickup.

However, Mr Huxley allegedly used a digger to stop them by tipping over the pickup with Mr Dalton and two others inside.

Response

Mr Dalton freed himself and responded by breaking the window of a Mitsubishi Shogun parked at the site. 

Mr Jordan then smashed the windows of a Massey Ferguson tractor and a Toyota Land Cruiser.

The farmhouse was also damaged in the incident and the cost of the destruction amounted to a total of about £5,294.

In a victim statement submitted by John Huxley’s wife, Tracey, the men were described as being on a destructive rampage.

Mrs Huxley added that the incident had caused significant damage to the farm and left her feeling scared.

But Mr Dalton’s defence lawyer, Sarah Cooper, said her client’s action was totally out of character. Ms Cooper added that there was “a lot of background” to the case.

Chairman of the magistrates bench, Brian Welti, ordered Mr Dalton to pay a £660 fine, a £66 victim surcharge, court costs of £310 and a £350 compensation order. The total order was £1,386.

Mr Jordan will be sentenced on 7 January.