A MAN police have described as a "danger to animals" has been jailed after police repeatedly caught him with livestock.

Specialist officers worked with local farmers to stop Michael Hawkswell's illegal journeys and activities with animals despite being banned from having anything to do with them.

Now police will publicise his banning order at livestock and animal markets and at rural businesses.

When he was jailed for six months in 2017 for a similar offence, Sergeant Kevin Kelly, from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force, said: “Hawkswell is a danger to animals."

Following his latest convictions, PC Mark Atkinson, of the same task force , said: “Michael Hawkswell knew full well that he wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with animals – with a court order in place to protect them from suffering at his hands.

“Members of the farming community were aware of Hawkswell’s illegal activity, and came forward with crucial information, allowing us to arrest him and put him before the court.

I would like to thank everyone who has spoken to the police in relation to Hawkswell’s activities – your assistance has been so vital and helped our team to put the strongest case together."

Hawkswell, currently of Nunwick near Ripon and previously of Tockwith west of York, pleaded guilty to six offences of breaching an animal banning order and breaching a suspended prison sentence imposed for earlier breaches of an animal banning order. Two of the offences were committed in South Yorkshire, the rest in North Yorkshire.

Read more about what animals he was handling and where he got them from here

He was jailed for 32 weeks and ordered to pay a £128 statutory surcharge. He has previous convictions for animal cruelty.

York magistrates made another order disqualifying him from having anything to do with poultry, goats, sheep or birds for ten years and banned him from driving for 16 months.