Cat breeder Christopher Brown cowered in fear as animal rights protesters pelted his home with stones, a court heard, writes Nick Evans.

A 200-strong mob broke through police lines at Hillgrove Farm, near Witney, and surged towards the farmhouse.

The demonstrators, who were protesting about the breeding of cats for laboratory experiments, showered police with animal excrement and bricks.

Details of the riot emerged yesterday as two of the protesters were jailed at Northampton Crown Court for violent disorder. Gulf War veteran Steven Massey, 28, and father-of-two Stephen Greenwood, 32, were both regular demonstrators at the farm and were two of about 60 videoed by police at the farm on April 18, last year.

Stephen Crouch, prosecuting, said: "Iron bars were used to break down the police cordon and the palisades which had been erected.

"One of the bricks landed on a goose, which subsequently died.

"Mr Greenwood was caught on video kicking a fence down and later seen throwing a missile towards the farmhouse. "Mr Massey was seen throwing a number of missiles over a wall towards the farmhouse."

Greenwood, of Northcroft Lane, Newbury, and Massey, of Harlow, Essex, both pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Tim Maloney said both men regretted their actions. He added: "Mr Massey has since moved away from the animal rights movement and is working for the Community Service Volunteer national network. "He has demonstrated his remorse by behaving responsibly."

Jailing Massey for six months and Greenwood for ten months, Judge Anthony King told them: "Your own personal views in relation to animals being used in research in laboratories are not an issue.

"To act in the way you did in this situation is wholly unacceptable. There was mayhem, there was fear, there was violence and there was uproar."

Story date: Saturday 17 April

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