Dealer Found Guilty
Friday 11 January 2008
A Kent horse dealer has been found guilty of eight offences under the Trade Descriptions Act after lying about the ages of horses he sold.
Tom Bonner, of Hillside Farm, Darenth Hill, Darenth, was prosecuted by trading standards officers following an investigation by BBC South East. He sold BBC reporter Jon Hunt a horse he claimed was nine or 10 years old, when in fact it was at least 18. Dartford magistrates adjourned the case for sentencing within 28 days.
BBC South East carried out its investigation in October and November 2005, following a tip-off from a viewer. Journalists posed as a couple wanting to buy a horse and chose an animal which they named Oscar. They were told by Mr Bonner he was aged nine or 10 and in good condition. But vets who examined Oscar after the purchase said he was nearer 21 years old and not fit to ride.
Bonner denied all the charges, some of which related to horses sold to members of the public, at an earlier hearing. Tom Bonner sold horses from a farm in Darenth Hill.
On Friday, defence barrister Tim Frith said Bonner acted in good faith. He said there was no evidence to suggest the incorrect ages given were "anything other than a mistake". He said Bonner lived hand to mouth and had no bank account or fixed property.
But Rachel Spearing, prosecuting, told the magistrates, sitting at Gravesend County Court, his defence was a "total pack of lies". He was a careless and indifferent "purveyor of misery to both human and animal". Adjourning the case for reports, chairman of the bench Robert Howe, said: "It is inconceivable that you made a mistake in all the cases.
(As reported by the BBC news)
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