THREE men have been charged with poaching in the Pewsey area.
Stuart Pidgley, 44, of Hythe, Southampton, Stuart Smith,41, of Dibden Purlieu, Southampton and Jason Wells,43, of Redlynch, Salisbury were all arrested on Saturday following a report of trespassing in the Pewsey area.
They have been released on bail and are due to appear at Salisbury Magistrates court on January 5 2018.
The arrests were made as part of a campaign launched by the rural crime team at Wiltshire Police to help rural communities prevent poaching on their land.
Operation Artemis is part of the nationally recognised poaching operation Project Trepass, which aims to coordinate action across England and Wales through prevention, intelligence, enforcement and reassurance.
Rural Crime Officer PC Marc Jackson said: “We understand the impact poaching has on their livelihoods and the resulting fear of crime that comes from this.
“We want Operation Artemis to reassure our rural communities that we do take poaching seriously, and anybody found to be committing such offences here will be dealt with robustly. Wiltshire is not a soft touch and we will use the full legislation powers that have been given to us as the police."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here