Prolific hare courser has penalty increased after appealing his sentence

A poacher handed a banning order following a North Yorkshire Police investigation has had his sentence increased at court.

Ryan Thomas Spence, 33, of Redcar, became the first offender in North Yorkshire to be given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for hare coursing offences last year.

Spence was convicted of hunting wild mammals with dogs on farmland near Kirkbymoorside in February 2022. In September 2022, at Scarborough Magistrates Court, he was issued with a CBO, fined more than £1,000 and received a six-month driving ban.

Spence subsequently appealed the sentence, and appeared at York Crown Court on 23 February 2023. However, not only was the original sentence upheld, his driving ban was increased from six months to two years, and will now run from 23 February 2023.