Lorry driver, 60, had a fight with a BULL that wandered into his garden

A landowner beat-up and whipped a randy BULL which wandered onto his field to get to some cows, a court heard.

Douglas Symonds, 60, threw a block of wood at the beast and lashed it at least 20 times with a fibreglass rope.

The Aberdeen Angus, called Hector, made several attempts to reach a set of cows on the other side of Symonds’ land in Yelverton, Devon.

One neighbour watched on in horror as Symonds lost his temper and chased the helpless bull before repeatedly whipping it, causing lesions on its skin.

The bull had accidentally damaged gates, a stile, a generator, and dented Symonds’ car in his attempt to get to a local farmer’s cows kept in a field next to his land.

Symonds pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on September 6 last year at Plymouth Magistrates Court.

Magistrates gave the defendant a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £50 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Prosecutor Angela Furniss told the court the heavy goods lorry driver drove the Aberdeen Angus bull off his Peatcot Farm property using a fibreglass rope whip.

She said: “A a bull named Hector that mainly grazes on closed pastures entered part of the Peatcot Farm. The defendant is said to have chased it with a thin rope.

“A neighbour saw the incident and said he had made contact with the bull.”

The same neighbour asked him to leave the animal alone but Symonds told him to be quiet before swearing at him, the court heard.

The animal was inspected separately by two vets after the incident, both who stated they believed the force of the whip had left lesions on its skin.

Symonds told police the bull had previously entered his property 20 to 30 times in the space of two weeks and had smashed through his front gate.

The court was told that the bull goes through the defendant’s land to try to get to a set of cows which are kept on the other side of Symonds’ home.

Defending, Jodie Leonard said: “He lost his temper and went too far on this occasion and accepts the charge against him.

“The bull wants to access both sides of Mr Symonds’ property, through no fault of its own.

“Because of this he has damaged three gates, a generator, dented the defendant’s car and broken a stile.”

She told the court that Symonds’ wife had been battling cancer and that the couple had been struggling to keep a grip on their home payments.