Man in barn with balaclava, vet’s glove, broom shaft and solar calulator says he meant no harm
JUST because a man is dressed in a balaclava made from the leg of old tracksuit bottoms, a veterinary inspection glove, a head torch and carrying a pen knife, a wooden broom shaft and length of rope does not mean he’s up to no good in a barn full of cows.
Sure. He looks familiar and is wearing a jacket the farmer used to own before it went missing. And, yes, he has solar calculator in his picket, much like one the farmer used to own. But when apprehended by the barn’s owner, he said, “Me-me-steal-ear-tags. Me-me-look-at-tags.” Let’s not rush to judgement.
The man in the fancy dress is Anthony Morris, 44. He told Omagh Crown Court that he meant no harm to cattle.
He say he thought he’d put on a woollen cap; the wooden shaft was to stabilise the effects of medication that made him dizzy; the glove was tool for cleaning fungi out of a water barrel; and the pen knife was to help open food for his 17 cats.
He was only in the barn because a man, whose name he can’t recall, “forced” him to check the cattle’s ear because he said the farmer had stolen three cows from him. Thsi man had touched him “with something metal”.
The jury deliberates. They find Morris guilty of intending to damage cattle and the theft of the body warmer and a solar calculator.
Posted: 28th, March 2013 | In: Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
