A council was yesterday accused of trying to "criminalise" farmers after a farmer claimed victory in a three-year battle to win justice.
David Williams, 52, was due to begin his appeal at Mold Crown Court against two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to lambs.
But instead, trading standards officers from Conwy County Borough Council decided at the eleventh hour not to contest the appeal which means Mr Williams has been totally exonerated.
Two other charges of failing to properly dispose of animal carcasses were dropped by the prosecution in October 2009.
The case has bounced from Denbigh magistrates to Mold Crown Court and then on to Prestatyn magistrates, before finally concluding today back at Mold Crown Court.
However, Mr Williams’ joy at finally gaining justice was tempered by the death of his father Douglas Williams in March this year aged 84 and the fact he did not live to see his son’s victory.
Speaking outside court today, the family’s solicitor and farming specialist David Kirwan, of law firm Kirwans, said: "This is one of the worst abuses of the law I have seen by a council against a respected, hard-working and award-winning farming family.
"What makes it worse is that Douglas Williams did not live to see his son exonerated of all charges and the family is in no doubt that the stress of the last three years did not do his health the slightest bit of good.
"Councils like Conwy seem hell-bent on criminalising the hard-working farming community of North Wales. There was never any justification for bringing this case against Mr Williams and it is a scandal that it has been allowed to drag on as long as it has.
"The cost to the taxpayer alone will be in excess of £50,000 and the Williams family themselves have also spent a considerable sum of money paying legal fees to fight this vindictive and totally unnecessary prosecution.
"This case is sadly just the tip of the iceberg. We are representing many other farmers in North Wales and elsewhere who are finding themselves being pursued by trading standards officers.
"This is the fourth case in the last two weeks which have been dropped just before trial or, in this instance, appeal, almost certainly because councils realise farmers and law firms such as my own are not going to go down without an almighty fight.
"These actions are an abuse of process at the best of times, but given the current state of the economy and particularly the public sector finances, they are simply scandalous. Each one is an extraordinary waste of taxpayer money.
The Williams family’s ordeal began when officers from Conwy County Borough Council first visited Henllys Farm in Llanfairtalhairn, Abergele, in September 2008.
Initially, the family, which has been farming for more than 80 years, faced four charges – two of causing unnecessary suffering to lambs and two further ones of failing to properly dispose of animal carcasses.
The two charges of failing to properly dispose of animal carcasses were dropped by the prosecution in October 2009, but in June last year, Mr Williams was found guilty of the two outstanding charges.
The Williams’, who regularly win best prizes at auction, have almost 6,000 sheep and 450 cattle, all of which were inspected by DEFRA, with only two giving any cause for concern. The farm’s standard of husbandry is said to be in the top five per cent of Welsh sheep producers.
Yet, despite all of this information, Conwy trading standards remained intent on bringing the prosecution against Mr Williams, whose children also now work on the farm making them a four-generation farming family.
Mr Kirwan added: "This farming family has lived in fear for almost three years of the potentially catastrophic impact these groundless allegations could have not only on their financial well-being, but just as seriously on their reputation as sheep farmers.
"Invading people’s privacy and marching round with their clip-boards, these officious people seem to forget how vital the farming community has been and continues to be to the economy of this country.
"Without the efforts of farmers the length and breadth of Britain, we would not have come through two world wars. Today the juggernaut of red tape and vindictiveness is slowly but surely whittling away the livelihoods of our farmers.
"It is dreadful that farmers are being criminalised and tarred with the same brush as murderers and rapists. The case against Mr Williams could and should have been resolved without ever coming to court, but this is something the over zealous officials at Conwy Council were sadly never willing to consider.
"Justice has been done today – it is just a shame that it has taken almost three years of stress, heartache, tens of thousands of pounds in unnecessary legal costs and, most tragically of all, the death of Mr Williams’ father, to bring about the only sensible outcome."
