Two men jailed after filming brutal sheep attack on South Downs

Two men have been jailed for killing a sheep in a “disturbing” attack on the South Downs that was filmed on a mobile phone.

Leighton Ashby, 22, of Beckett Road, Ashford, was sentenced to two years in prison, while Oakley Hollands, 20, of Mussenden Lane, Horton Kirby, received 20 months in a young offenders’ institution.

The pair drove to a field near Ditchling Beacon on the evening of 2 November 2023 and began chasing sheep before catching one animal and violently assaulting it using explosive ‘bangers’, causing catastrophic injuries.

The offence was prosecuted as causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Footage of Ashby carrying out the attack was recovered from Hollands’ phone. Officers also discovered videos of an unidentified person attacking both live and dead animals.

Investigators later found the sheep’s ear tags at a nearby property, understood to have been removed from the scene by Ashby.

The attack was reported to Sussex Police on 6 November 2023. Both men were arrested within two days and subsequently charged.

They pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 7 August 2025 before being sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on 23 February.

Livestock attacks can have a significant impact on farmers, both financially and emotionally, particularly in rural areas where flocks are often grazed on open downland.

Superintendent Rachel Swinney described the case as “a disturbing incident that has been treated with the seriousness it deserved”.

“Both of these men have now faced justice for their crimes, which should send a clear message that we will protect our rural communities and hold offenders to account,” she said.

The custodial sentences underline the seriousness with which courts are now treating deliberate acts of cruelty against livestock, particularly where evidence has been recorded and retained.