A WOMAN who kept 11 horses on land near Helmsley has been found guilty of nine counts of failing to ensure their welfare and four counts of causing unnecessary suffering.

Jacqueline Hill, 56, of Haslemere Avenue, Bridlington, was found guilty of all 13 offences at a trial at Scarborough Magistrates Court last Wednesday. She had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing in August.

The charges, brought by the RSPCA under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, related to a period of three months between August and November 2015.

The horses were seized by authorities from three sites - two at Nawton and one in Sawmill Lane, Helmsley. The trial heard assessments from two vets that the animals had problems with untrimmed hooves, lack of dental care and were in poor physical condition.

For the prosecution, Phil Brown said that it was Hill who had been paying rent on the horses' land, and that it was she who had taken responsibility for the horses' care.

He added that in the summer of 2015, the landowners were told that Hill had moved away and they became concerned she was not visiting the horses.

Giving evidence, Hill said that she had worked with horses all her life, and that in 2013, she started an animal rescue charity, together with her friend Jacqueline Stead.

PC Sarah Ward, wildlife crime officer, said she had investigated this charity on an different matter and on September 14, 2015, she brought Hill and Jacqueline Stead in to York police station for questioning.

Hill alleged that following this interview, PC Ward informed her that she knew about the horses and "was going to seize them".

Hill said that this was the reason she had not attended the horses between September and November. "I believed she would find them and take them. I thought I would be arrested. After that I had nothing to do with them," Hill told the court.

However, district judge Adrian Lower said that Hill had "chosen to believe a different reality".

Delivering the guilty verdict, he said: "I know what a body blow it must be to you to be convicted of these offences, not least because you have always been an animal lover."

He said that looking after the animals had become "too much for her".

He sentenced her to a 10-week 8pm-6am curfew, and banned her from owning equine animals or their hybrids for 10 years. She was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £750 and a surcharge of £60.

After the trial, RSPCA inspector Karen Colman said: "This was a case of serious long-term neglect which caused suffering to a number of horses, while others had their needs not met.

"Their owner moved away from the area, abandoning them to fend for themselves for a period of months.

"All owners have a legal responsibility to meet the needs of the animals in their care and sadly this did not happen here."

The horses themselves are now being boarded by the RSPCA until new homes can be found.