Man addicted to collecting bird eggs is sentenced

A self-described egg collecting addict has been handed a suspended jail-term for illegally amassing a collection of almost 3,000 wild birds' eggs.

Daniel Lingham, 71, was caught on a wildlife camera in June taking nightjar eggs from a nature reserve near Holt in Norfolk.

Thousands more eggs were found when officers searched his home in Newton St Faith near Norwich.

He admitted five offences in February and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

He had previously served two prison sentences for his illegal egg collecting, in 2005 and 2018.

Josephine Jones, prosecuting, told Norwich magistrates Lingham "said he could not help himself due to his addiction to collecting eggs".

He had claimed eggs at his home were from an old collection he had in storage when police last raided his address and from a collection he was given by a friend in Essex, she added.

Of the 2,995 found, 548 were from native birds on the amber list of conservation concern, and a further 546 were of the most serious concern on the red list including linnet, green finch, yellowhammer and house sparrow, the court heard.

A collection of eggs was found behind a bath panel including a box containing a pair of nightjar eggs with a label "Nightjar 2, Holt Lowes June 9".

Ms Jones said collectors kept eggs "as trophies for personal gratification."

"If the whole clutch [of eggs] is taken and the species is in any way rare, the egg collection will have a damaging effect on the conservation," she said.

James Burrows, mitigating, said: "There's an extensive history of some mental health issues."

He said Lingham had "expressed being addicted to egg collecting".

"There's no monetary gain in any of this," said Mr Burrows.

"It's that drive, that addiction that keeps people coming back unfortunately."

Speaking at the time of his conviction, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Lingham was a "one man machine for devastation".

Lingham admitted taking the nightjar eggs and possessing 2,429 eggs of a non-schedule 1 wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

He also admitted possessing 22 Schedule 1 bird eggs, possessing articles capable of being used to identify and take eggs, and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order which banned him from entering Holt Lowes.

He was ordered to comply with a 12-month mental health treatment requirement, including 15 rehabilitation activity days.

In 2005, he was jailed for 10 weeks after police found a collection of almost 4,000 eggs in his home.

In 2018, he was found to be in possession of more than 5,000 eggs for which he was jailed for 18 weeks and handed a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order.

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