A PARTRIDGE and pheasant farmer has cleared his name of allegations that he allowed a bird trap to be used on his land.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) prosecuted Michael Wood, 69, after it carried out covert surveillance of him on his farm in Cropton near Pickering.

Scarborough magistrates convicted him in February of knowing about a powerful spring-trap found on his land in June last year.

He appealed to York Crown Court where Judge Paul Batty QC sitting with two magistrates heard evidence about the surveillance and trap and from Mr Wood himself.

The prosecution alleged that he knew about the trap because he drove slowly near them. But the bench decided the prosecution had failed to prove its case.