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Pensioner's body stolen by animal rights group is found
By Nick Britten
(Filed: 04/05/2006) The remains of a pensioner removed from her grave by animal rights extremists have been found after 19 months. Police
believe that bones discovered buried at a beauty spot are those of
Gladys Hammond, 82, whose grave was desecrated in October 2004.  | | Police remove from a makeshift grave what they believe are the remains of Gladys Hammond |
Detectives
were given specific details of the spot in the 3,000-acre Cannock Chase
country park, Staffs, and unearthed the remains, which had been buried
in a makeshift grave. Four animal rights
protesters are awaiting sentence at Nottingham Crown Court next week
for a campaign of terror and blackmail against the owners of Darley
Oaks farm in Newchurch, Staffs. Guinea pigs were bred at the farm for
medical research. One of the farm owners is Chris Hall, Mrs Hammond's
son-in-law. Police sources said John Ablewhite,
Kerry Whitburn, John Smith and Josephine Mayo had been given until the
middle of this week to tell them where the body was hidden before their
sentencing next Thursday. The body was removed
from the woods yesterday and taken to Stafford mortuary, where DNA
tests will be carried out to confirm that it is Mrs Hammond. | |  | | Gladys Hammond |
Police
refused to say how long they thought the remains had been there, but
said the rectangular patch of earth was clearly visible from the path. Detectives
initially thought the body had been buried at Brackenhurst woods, near
Burton upon Trent. They accept that it may have been moved to its
current spot more recently. Det Chief Insp Nick Baker said police were told about the site on Tuesday afternoon. They found the remains almost immediately. He said a "sensitive, careful and methodical" search of the area was being carried out. Mrs
Hammond's body was removed from a cemetery at St Peter's church in
Yoxall, Staffs, in October 2004. Its whereabouts have remained a
mystery since. The Hall family received letters
from the Animal Rights Militia claiming responsibility and promising to
return the body if the family closed their guinea pig farm, which they
did in January. By
then, four activists were in custody charged over a six-year campaign
against the Halls, which included violence and death threats. Ablewhite, 36, Whitburn, 36, Smith, 39, and Mayo, 38, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to blackmail. They were told they faced up to 12 years in jail when they appear before a judge next week. They were described as "determined and cold-blooded defenders of their perceived cause". In
a statement, Mrs Hammond's daughters, Janet Palmer and Margaret Hall,
both expressed hope that the remains were those of their late mother
and that they could be returned to their rightful resting place. Mrs Hall said: "If we are to get closure, this is ultimately how we will get it. This is important to us." Villagers in Yoxall, about 13 miles from where the remains were found, said they were relieved at the breakthrough. Rod
Harvey, a fuel driver who was forced to stop delivering to Darley Oaks
Farm after being targeted by animal rights activists, said: "I'm angry
that it has taken this long before the police were told where to find
the body." Mr Harvey, 64, who runs Dove Fuels in
Burntwood, Staffs, was the victim of a smear campaign when letters were
sent to every house in his street falsely claiming he was a convicted
paedophile. The campaign began in 1999 after the Animal Liberation Front raided the farm, releasing 600 guinea pigs. A group called Save the Newchurch Guinea Pigs was formed. Peter
Clamp, a local businessman who failed last year in an attempt to get an
exclusion zone to keep the activists out, said he was "delighted". He said: "These animal rights activists, who have plagued our lives, are sick. "The four protesters due for sentencing have shown no remorse so far and I hope a judge does not consider a lesser sentence. "They all deserve to be jailed for a long time for the agony they have caused an entire community."
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