Top councillor found guilty of criminal damage after tearing down electric fence to 'evict sheep'

CASE FOLLOWS PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS FOR DANGEROUSLY OUT OF CONTROL DOGS, CARELESS DRIVING, AND HARASSMENT

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A SENIOR councillor will have to fork out nearly £1,800 after being found guilty of criminal damage in a row over an electric fence - and “evicting sheep”.

Tom Hollis is still deputy leader of Ashfield District Council despite previously being convicted of owning dangerously out of control dogs, harassing his neighbours and careless driving.

The 32-year-old Ashfield Independents councillor, of Yew Tree Drive, Huthwaite, was convicted of the latest offences after a one-day trial at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Hollis tried to have the hearing adjourned.

His solicitor said a key witness was “stuck in a field’ but his adjournment request was denied.

Hollis attended the hearing with his parents - and his mother was reprimanded for shouting at prosecution witnesses as the verdict was confirmed.

The court heard that the charges concerned a dispute on October 15 last year over a field in Silverhill Lane in Teversal owned by Hollis’ father.

Michael Hollis bought the land at a 2022 auction after the previous owner died and the court heard evidence from Ian Taylor, who had leased the land from the previous owner.

Mr Taylor said his wife’s family had had an agricultural holding with the agreement of the previous landowners since 1982.

He said that details of this arrangement were read out at the 2022 auction.

Mr Taylor said the land was used to produce a haylage crop each year and that sheep were put there in winter for maintenance.

Josephine Loft, prosecuting, said the dispute arose at 8.20am on October 15 when the Hollis family decided they were going to remove the farming tenants by getting their sheep off the land and removing the electric fence keeping them in.