Leighton Ashby, 22, of Beckett Road in Ashford, Kent, and Oakley Hollands, 20, of Mussenden Lane in Horton Kirby, Kent, drove up to a field near Ditchling Beacon on the evening of November 2, 2023, and began chasing sheep.
The pair caught one sheep and violently assaulted it, using explosive bangers to cause catastrophic injuries to the animal.
Footage of Ashby carrying out the attack was found on Hollands’ phone.
The sheep’s ear tags were also found in communal toilets at Plumpton College, understood to have been taken from the scene by Ashby.
The attack was reported to Sussex Police on November 6, 2023.
Both men were arrested on November 8, 2023, and subsequently charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on August 7, 2025, both men pleaded guilty.
At Lewes Crown Court sitting at Hove Trial Centre on Monday, February 23, Ashby was jailed for two years. Hollands was sentenced to 20 months in a young offenders’ institute.
Superintendent Rachel Swinney said: “This was a disturbing incident that has been treated with the seriousness it deserved.
“Both of these men have now faced justice for their crimes, which should send a clear message that we will protect our rural communities and hold offenders to account.”
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