Two students who blew up a sheep with fireworks are facing prison for what a judge described as a “sadistic and utterly barbaric” act.
Leighton Ashby, 22, and Oakley Hollands, 20, invited two other students from Plumpton College to Ditchling Beacon to see what they said was a dead badger.
But when they arrived, they were instead confronted by Ashby and Hollands brutally assaulting a sheep, finally lighting powerful fireworks in its body.
The witnesses, Henry Savell and Leila Goodwin-Crisell, were horrified and reported the pair. An investigation subsequently found video footage of the brutal 30-minute attack on their phones.
District judge Amanda Kelly said: “It’s hard to comprehend how you could both inflict such brutal cruelty on a defenceless animal. It was sadistic and utterly barbaric.”
She added: “Videos were taken and shared. The sound of laughter can be heard in those videos which is mind-boggling and suggests there was some sort of glorification of what was being done.
“There were attempts to cover up and to involve others in what was done. You asked other young people to lie about what happened.
“You offered to pay someone else to help you remove the sheep’s body.”
Prosecuting, Joe Lewis said that the attack happened on the evening of Monday 6 November 2023. The pair began by punching and kicking the sheep, before smashing its head against a fence, causing a critical injury.
They then inserted a firework into its mouth, and then its anus, mutilating the carcass.
He argued that the case should be sent to the crown court for sentencing, where a greater prison sentence could be passed.
He said Hollands’s phone contained a still of a fox which had been killed and dismembered.
He said: “This shows cruelty was not confined to livestock but extended to wild animals. The recovered media demonstrates a pattern of repeated cruelty to animals.”
He said that Ashby had also hidden the sheep’s ear tags in the communal toilets of the college, adding: “The crown says that those were kept as trophies.”
Defending Ashby, Tim Stirmey asked for a psychiatric report to be commissioned for his client, who had not been forthcoming in interviews with probation for pre-sentence reports.
Defending Hollands, Robert Gregory said that his client had broken down while discussing the case before today’s hearing.
The district judge agreed that the case should be sent to the crown court. Ashby, of Beckett Road, Ashford, Kent, and Hollands, of Mussenden Lane, Horton Kirby, Kent, are due to be sentenced on Monday 10 November.
Yet another example of why fireworks should not be made available to the public!!!
Quite so…
That is as sadistic as it gets , vile individuals
That’s nothing to do with the fireworks. The rest of the article shows they would have still done damage without those. Just because of two bad kids you don’t ban something that is safely used by the majority.
I assume that you’d be in favour of American style free access to firearms as well – fireworks are explosives and explosives should only be handled by experts.
I agree with you Bob. This has little to do with the tool, but the wielder. A deeply troubled pair of individuals.
The act is shameful and any animal loving person will be horrified. Youngsters are inclined to make stupid mistakes and errors of judgement sometimes but I feel this pre-meditated and prolonged assault demonstrates that a punishment more severe than a community order is necesary. Personally I feel that fireworks should be confined to organised demonstrations these days. There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy them this way and the cost alone leaves parents ‘shell shocked’ . Not much good comes from them otherwise.
Here comes the midwit demanding more restrictions on everyone
Balanced by the thousands of people who enjoy firework responsibility for hundreds of years.
Not a good look for the human race,
The mental state that would cause these two young men to do what they have is very concerning. It is so far removed from normal behavior, I wonder whether a lengthy spell in a psychiatric institution is called for?
psych institutions are for the vulnerable mentally ill who can be cured and recovered to normalcy with medication. These two clearly have psychopathic personality disorders, and full mental clarity in what they were doing, disgusting people, psychopaths for whom prisons are reserved, and maybe if we had any sense as a nation the guillotine. Disgusting lowest of the low to pray on such a vulnerable. Hope the inmates see fit to do the same to their nether regions where they’re going.
Just stick a firework up their arses
Horrendous.
They want hanging in public
Agree
This is horrendous cruelty.
Please do not refer to animals as ‘it’ as you have done here. He or she, or, if you do not know the gender, they.
This had an uncanny resemblance to the case of the Montreal butcher/luca magnotta/the cat vacuumer. Absolutely sick
What is Plumpton College doing to address such a culture amongst their students? People who torture humans frequently start with animals. This is at an institution specifically aimed at people who will work with animals. Given that educational establishments are now expected to have a duty of care and clear guidelines on acceptable behaviour it would seem to me that Plumpton and the police need to take action.
Well done to the brave people who reported them, I hope they have been protected from any action from other students, and can continue their studies, possibly at a less toxic institution.
Is the actions of one or two individuals a culture? I would not be surprised if they are immediately ejected from the college for this, and quite rightly, in my opinion.
Yes. The torture was filmed and shared and those watching laughed. Benjamin you usually check your facts. This is a culture.
It’s an agricultural college where students invite other students to witness torture. Do you think this would be acceptable at Sussex or Brighton University?