Dorset egg producer facing jail for overstocking and false free range claims

Dorset farmer James Gigg appeared in court facing allegations of egg fraud
Dorset farmer James Gigg appeared in court facing allegations of egg fraud

A Dorset farmer who admitted conning his customers into buying eggs that he told them were free range when they were not, could face a spell behind bars when he is sentenced.

James Gigg appeared in court facing allegations of fraud running into hundreds of thousands of pounds and stuffing too many chickens into his hen houses, which was against EU regulations.

He also furnished fraudulent information regarding his egg production and sales records at his farm in Chetnole Road, Yetminster.

The 41-year-old defendant appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil charged with three offences.

It was alleged that between November 27, 2015 and January 20, 2017 at Yetminster he committed fraud in that he dishonestly made a false representation, namely that eggs he sold to the Traditional Free Range Egg Company were classed as free range whereas he was aware that they could not be classed as such intending to make a gain of approximately £230,000 for himself.

He was also charged on May 27, 2016 to have furnished false information to a person acting in the execution of the Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, namely egg production records and sales which did not accurately reflect actual egg production and sales for the relevant period.

EU provisions

He was further alleged that between October 29, 2015 and December 19, 2016 at Meadoway Farm, Yetminster, he failed to comply with specified EU provisions in that he marketed eggs as class A free range from 5,500 hens in House 1 and 8,500 hens in House 2 when the maximum permitted was 4,000 hens and 6,500 hens respectively.

The defendant pleaded guilty to all three allegations and prosecutor Emma Lenanton said that the total amount of the fraud involved in the case was in the region of £230,000.

“The sentencing guidelines put these offences in a category with a starting point of three years in custody and the prosecution says that this is outside the remit of this court’s sentencing powers,” she said.

Defending solicitor Tim Hayden said that both the category of offence and amount of money involved in the case were going to be argued at a later stage in the proceedings but did not dispute the level of seriousness.

As a result the magistrates refused to accept jurisdiction for the case and ordered Gigg to be committed to Taunton Crown Court to be sentenced on June 18.

They adjourned all matters until that date and in the meantime ordered the Probation Service to prepare a pre-sentence report for the sentencing judge.

Until his next court appearance the defendant was released on unconditional bail.

By Laura Linham, Somerset Live