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Man jailed after stealing birds eggs

2:15pm Tuesday 13th December 2011 in Leigh

A MAN has been jailed after stealing the eggs of rare birds on Two Tree Island.

Matthew Gonshaw, 49,appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court charged with ten offences connected to the theft and possession of rare eggs snatched from nests across the country.

These included 12 avocet eggs which were taken on April 27 from a nesting site on Two Tree Island, Leigh. The Metropolitan Police were was first alerted to Gonshaw in June 2011 after he had been arrested in Scotland, on the Isle of Rhum, for taking the eggs of several wild birds.

This led officers to search his home in Cherrywood Close, in Bow, London, along with the RSPB.

They found more than 714 eggs as well as camouflaged clothing, climbing equipment, detailed maps and illegal site maps detailing the nesting spots of several rare breeds of birds.

He was jailed for six months for offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Comments(11)

marybelle says...
4:02pm Tue 13 Dec 11

Excellent news I hope he suffers as the birds have suffered.

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Arthur Chance says...
4:13pm Tue 13 Dec 11

Someone must have been egging him on.

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geezer, innit says...
4:30pm Tue 13 Dec 11

they ought to steal his 'eggs', stop the r swipe from breeding.....

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leigh-my-town says...
4:34pm Tue 13 Dec 11

This is an Eggstemely upsetting story. Did he not have anything more eggciting to doing back at his nest!

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firedog says...
4:45pm Tue 13 Dec 11

Well at least he is doing bird,for his sins.

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timmus says...
5:15pm Tue 13 Dec 11

He must have cracked under Police interrogation.

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Mr.Westham. says...
12:14am Wed 14 Dec 11

trouble is 6months turns into 3months then would go home earlier with a tag... :)

^ months without getting out early and only eggs for breakfast, Dinner & Tea might give him a total egg-fobia by the time he came out....
punishment befitting the crime sounds right by me... lol

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SUFC1906 says...
12:06pm Wed 14 Dec 11

He could have bought a dozen eggs at Tesco & stuck them in the nest & no doubt nobody would have noticed except the birds & he would have been eggstremely likely to get away with it.

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APR says...
9:41pm Fri 16 Dec 11

Of course he should be punished, but others get far less, for crimes against
humans.

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soul man says...
9:44pm Tue 27 Dec 11

doing bird for doing birds, poetic justic comes to mind haha

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termite1944 says...
4:22pm Wed 11 Jan 12

It would have been kinder fro the birds and better fro him had he fiddled millions of the DHSS, he would have got a slap on the wrist and community service!

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