Barnstaple Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

Ross Skilton, from Bridgerule, kept animals in appalling conditions at his property. Following a complaint about an underweight, flea- and worm-infested Jack Russell cross English Springer Spaniel puppy purchased from him, Torridge District Council executed a search warrant in January 2025. Officers found the property heavily contaminated with animal waste, diarrhoea on furniture, urine throughout, cat faeces several centimetres deep. Two young dogs in kitchen without water, seven Bengal cats including one kitten with gastrointestinal disease causing pain for at least two weeks, two dogs in garden shed. All animals removed by RSPCA, treated, recovered, and rehomed.

Perring continued to breach a Community Protection Notice issued in February 2025 by drinking in the PSPO area in Barnstaple. Street marshals identified 39 such incidents, including one on September 19, 2025, where he was seen urinating in Paternoster Row in full view of the public.

Raynor was seen drinking alcohol in Runnymede Gardens in Ilfracombe before urinating in a stream on May 1, 2025. A CPN was issued following the incident. On June 18, 2025, he refused to comply with a dispersal notice issued for drinking alcohol in the gardens.

Nigel Miller, 38, from Bear Street in Barnstaple, collected over 10,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse, including more than 12,000 in the most serious category involving very young children, some computer-generated images, and 60 showing people having sex with animals. He used a file-sharing platform called MegaNZ to store these images. The offences occurred over a two-year period, with police raiding his address in August 2022. Miller blamed his actions on low self-esteem, a difficult childhood, and lockdown effects, and he was already a convicted paedophile who had completed a treatment programme.

Sara Spearman, a homeowner, was involved in work carried out without consent on trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order at a property in Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple in January and February 2025.

Stewart Spearman, a homeowner, was involved in work carried out without consent on trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order at a property in Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple in January and February 2025.

Diane Wogden, a homeowner, was involved in work carried out without consent on trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order at a property in Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple in January and February 2025.

Gary Boyles, a tree surgeon, carried out work at two properties in Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple in January and February 2025 without consent, damaging eight protected trees by completely removing their canopies and reducing their heights by approximately 10 metres. The trees were protected by a Tree Preservation Order.

Michael Wogden, a homeowner, was involved in work carried out without consent on trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order at a property in Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple in January and February 2025.