Kerry Anne Pickersgill, 48, and her daughter Ellie Newby, 25, have been sentenced at Durham Crown Court
Kristy Dawson Multi-Media Journalist
15:19, 19 Feb 2026
There were 21 dogs discovered in sheds and trailers(Image: RSPCA)
A mother who was banned from keeping animals has now been convicted of neglecting more than 40 horses and dogs. Dead and dying horses were discovered at Kerry Anne Pickersgill’s farm in County Durham.
Rescuers from the RSPCA and the World Horse Welfare found 22 horses living alongside dead equines in filthy barns and stables at the remote property in Marwood, Barnard Castle. Some had collapsed and the majority were underweight.
They also found 21 dogs in sheds and trailers on the farm. Many of them were matted with mouldy faeces.
The RSPCA carried out an investigation and Pickersgill, 48, who was disqualified from keeping all animals for life in May 2015, and her daughter Ellie Newby, 25, who both lived on the farm, were charged with offences.
During a hearing in October, Pickersgill admitted 12 counts of causing unnecessary suffering, two counts of not meeting needs and breaching a previous ban on keeping animals. The charges relate to 22 horses and 21 dogs.
The conditions on the farm in County Durham(Image: RSPCA)
Newby admitted two offences of causing unnecessary suffering in relation to two dogs. The mother and daugther were sentenced by Judge Peter Makepiece KC at Durham Crown Court on Friday.
Pickersgill was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for for two years. She was also ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 100 hours of unpaid work and a six-month mental health treatment order.
Newby received a 12-month community order and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. She was disqualified from keeping dogs for five years.
The court in Durham heard how a local authority animal welfare officer visited the defendants’ farm on February 12 last year in response to a call about sheep and requested RSPCA assistance after finding dead horses and other equines in very poor health.
There were also welfare concerns for a large number of dogs being kept in sheds, stables and trailers. At the top of the drive was a large area where items were being dumped.
There was evidence of a fire having been lit, and amongst a mound of straw, wood and bedding material were the carcasses of at least two horses, one of which was partially charred.
One of the horses discovered on the farm(Image: RSPCA)
RSPCA Inspector Ian Smith described seeing horse’s bones during written evidence. He said: “As I approached the mound I saw the skeletal remains of an equine. The rib cage was clearly obvious and a foreleg under some branches.
“As we walked round the pile I came across bones from various parts of an equine’s body and a head. These had been there for some considerable time as flesh had decomposed.
“I was then taken to a stable which had no lighting but I was still able to see a chestnut foal and its dead mother lying in the corner. This stable was filthy and deep in faeces.
“There was no fresh bedding for this live youngster but someone had dropped some hay onto the faeces and given water.”
The outside living conditions for the horses (Image: RSPCA)
Inspector Smith also found a large shed next to the stable. He said: “It contained seven horses, some of which were covered with a rug and looked in poor condition.
“This shed was split in two and in the other section there were two young equines lying dead on the floor, a skewbald and a bay which still had a rug on it. The conditions were very poor, filthy and soaking wet with no clean bedding whatsoever.
“It was clear that the animals at this establishment could not stay like this.”
RSPCA Inspector Heidi Cleaver told the court, in her written evidence, that the dogs were living amongst mouldy faeces and debris in damp stables, sheds and trailers. She said: “All of them were being kept in wholly unsuitable living conditions.
Cockapoo Honey when she was rescued from the farm(Image: RSPCA)
“The floors were littered with days’ worth of dog mess, there was nowhere clean and dry for them to rest and no access to clean and fresh water. The smell of ammonia inside some of the closed sheds and horseboxes was quite overwhelming.”
Her colleague, Inspector Clare Wilson, said in her evidence: “Most of the dogs were kept in the dark and the lights that were pointed out by Ms Pickersgill did not work when turned on.
“Many of the dogs were extremely underweight with all bones easily seen and felt and all were matted, stained and smelly, most with mouldy faeces matted into their fur. I saw a dead horse on a muck pile outside in the farmyard.”
Two vets and a dog behaviourist were asked to assist at the scene. They initially assessed and examined the animals and their living conditions.
Honey is now in the care of the RSPCA(Image: RSPCA)
It was confirmed they were suffering or likely to suffer if their circumstances didn’t change and they were taken into police possession. The court was told 16 live horses were transported to a private equine facility for immediate veterinary treatment.
Six of them were owned by other people and were on loan to the defendants at the time.
Pickersgill and Newby also agreed to sign over the dogs, which included Spaniels, Cockapoos, Poodle crosses and Old English Sheepdogs. Some of them had to be carried out of the sheds and stables by RSPCA officers.
Eight of the horses were in such poor condition the vet who examined them recommended they be put to sleep to prevent further suffering. Many had severely overgrown hooves, which in one case hadn’t been trimmed for three years, and teeth which hadn’t been seen for two years.
Lice and worm infestations were rife and several horses’ coats were stained in faeces. In her written evidence, the vet said none of the horses had been provided with a suitable environment, with the majority being kept in squalid and unsanitary conditions, deep in faeces.
A dog found in a dirty shed on the farm(Image: RSPCA)
All of them had insufficient food and the majority were underweight, with body condition scores ranging from emaciated to moderate. The vet said one horse seen with a foal at foot would have taken a “minimum of 12 weeks” to deteriorate to that condition.
Others were so hungry they were seen eating their own faeces. The only water on site was brown and dirty, with some of the horses having no provision at all.
The vet said: “It is clear from the number of both gravely and obviously sick animals and deceased carcases on site that the owner/person responsible for them was not providing veterinary attention. The horses were in varying degrees of stages of the same issues, with lack of adequate diet and endoparasite treatment predominating.
“Ultimately, if left untreated and in the same conditions, they were all on the same conveyor belt of deterioration in health. When animals died, it is clear they were left in the same stables they were contained in, despite other horses being in there.”
Old English Sheepdog Ali pictured when found on the farm(Image: RSPCA)
The dogs were suffering from a number of health issues and had matted coats, fur loss, dental disease, inflamed ears and infected eyes. Many of them had tender paws, which the vet said was likely due to standing in a damp and ammonia-heavy environment.
Four of them were described as emaciated by the vet and given the lowest possible body condition score of one out of nine. They included an Old English Sheepdog called Ali who was living in a shed at the rear of the main property.
She weighed 13.3 kg and hadn’t been properly fed for months. Her coat was severely matted with mouldy faeces, her pads macerated from standing on wet substrate for prolonged periods and her ears red and discharging.
Ali had to be sedated to allow her matted coat to be shaved. By the end of April, in RSPCA care, her weight had increased to 21.45 kg.
Ali after her matted fur was shaved off (Image: RSPCA)
Another dog, a greyhound called Minty had sores on his hocks and hips and a crusty and swollen tail injury which was so severe it needed amputating. He was crawling in fleas and weighed 25.9 kg putting on eight kilograms in the charity’s care.
The court was told the dogs’ matted coats were pulling on their skin, causing inflammation and discomfort. The vet described their accommodation as “wholly unacceptable” and said the animals had suffered for up to “several months”.
The vast majority were nursed back to health and rehomed by the RSPCA’s Felledge Animal Centre in County Durham and Great Ayton Animal Centre in North Yorkshire.
The surviving horses are being cared for by World Horse Welfare and have made good progress. A Shetland pony also rescued from the farm has since been rehomed by the RSPCA’s Felledge Equine Centre.
The court heard how Pickersgill was said to have expressed regret about what had happened and the impact it had had on the animals and her family. She apportioned the blame to herself for “putting herself in this predicament”.
Newby, who had no previous convictions, was said to be under the influence of her mother. The court was told she had “significant problems” and had led a solitary existence.
Horses from the farm which are now being looked after by the World Horse Welfare(Image: World Horse Welfare)
Following the sentencing hearing, Inspector Cleaver said: “Everyone who worked at the scene for many hours was left shocked by what they encountered. The images of starving horses standing alongside dead ones, and scores of nervous dogs living in near darkness, will stay with us all for a long time.
“A large number of animals suffered greatly and for some it was sadly too late. Thanks to staff at our Felledge and Great Ayton animal centres, the majority of the dogs were rehabilitated and rehomed.
“Our thanks also go to our colleagues at World Horse Welfare for the incredible work they have done to get the surviving horses back to good health, and to the vets, the dog behaviourist and the police officers who worked with us on site until late in the evening.”
Seema Ritson, one of the two Field Officers from World Horse Welfare who assisted, added: “Finding numerous dead horses left where they’d fallen – with the whole site reeking of rotting flesh – and starving equines shut in with no food, water, or light, was truly dreadful. Until I turned the torch on my phone on, I couldn’t even tell that there was a foal in one stable, standing on her own in the dark beside a dead mare.
“There are some cases that haunt me and this is one of them – the suffering here was horrendous.”
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