A group of men who conspired to burgle cattle from a farm on Anglesey have been sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court.

On 10 December 2022, at the farm on the outskirts of Llanerch-y-medd, the livestock were checked by their owner and secured in a shed. When the farmer returned the following day, some of the cattle were loose and 14 were missing.

North Wales Police used CCTV footage to identify a lorry heading to and from the area, which was later seen on the A55 heading towards Wrexham.

The police were able to link the vehicle to Liam Kettleborough, 29. He was arrested and analysis of his phone revealed messages between him and the other four defendants, Jack Billington, 23, Stanley Jones, 26, Michael McLeod, 57, and Clifford Smith, 65.

The messages, along with cell site data, showed that Billington, Jones and McLeod had travelled to Anglesey on 10 December 2022 and back to the Wrexham area in the early hours of the following morning.

The vehicle was then driven to Clifford Smith’s farm in the Stoke-on-Trent area.

Police officers recovered twelve stolen cattle from Smith’s two farms and DNA tests on nine of them proved they were from the Anglesey farm.

Andrew Warman of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The evidence in this case had to be pieced together from a variety of sources.

“The investigation was extremely thorough, allowing the CPS to present strong evidence showing how each individual played a part in the overall criminality.

“Rural crime has a significant impact on farming communities, severely affecting peoples’ livelihoods, and is taken very seriously by the Crown Prosecution Service.”

All defendants were sentenced on 20 March 2026 to the following:

• Jack Billington – 14 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months. Ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and 10 days rehabilitation activity requirement. He was also disqualified from driving for one year and ordered to pay £1000 compensation
• Stanley Jones – 19 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. Ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 days rehabilitation activity requirement, and to pay £1000 compensation
• Liam Kettleborough – 19 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. Ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and 10 days rehabilitation activity requirement, and to pay £1000 compensation
• Micheal McLeod – 19 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. Ordered to complete a six month electronically monitored curfew and pay £500 compensation
•  Clifford Smith – Five months’ imprisonment suspended for one year. Ordered to complete 25 days rehabilitation activity requirement and one year of a mental health treatment requirement and also pay £200 compensation.