Obsessive egg thief jailed

A thief branded 'a serious threat to British wildlife' for stealing rare birds' eggs has been jailed for six months.

Carlton D'Cruze - one of the country's most prolific egg thieves - was given the longest sentence ever passed for such an offence.

When police and officials from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds raided his home, they found 453 eggs taken from protected species such as the peregrine falcon, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, osprey and black and red-throated divers.

The eggs were taken over 15 years from nesting sites in England, Wales and Scotland and were described as the most important seizure for 20 years.

During the raid, officers caught D'Cruze, 41, in his bathroom smashing eggs and destroying documents, South Sefton magistrates in Merseyside heard.

Police found a notebook containing a graphic account of how an eagle broke up her egg in an attempt to defend her nest from D'Cruze during a midnight raid. There were also hundreds of maps showing nesting sites and giving details of his future raids.

The discovery of six clutches of osprey eggs during the operation was unprecedented, said prosecutor Paula Grogan.

Daniel Dennis, representing D'Cruze, said his client had 'a hobby which had turned into an obsession'.

D'Cruze, of Thornton, Liverpool, admitted 13 offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.