Driver accused of ‘stealing from council’ after picking up dead deer from roadside as police drop case

Mr Carpenter stopped to remove the carcass near Greta Bridge, intending to take it home to “put it in the freezer” and later eat it.

However, he was stopped by police and told he was “committing an offence”, as anyone found to be removing roadkill not on their own property is “stealing from the council”.

Two months later, Durham Police charged Mr Carpenter under the Deer Act of 1991.

The legislation states it is an offence to remove a deer carcass, but a person is not guilty if they believed “they would have the consent of the owner or occupier of the land”.

He said he found it unlikely a public body would object to him removing the deer given the cost of cleaning it up themselves.

He received a letter by post informing him of the charge, with National Highways confirmed as the owner of the land.

At Peterlee Magistrates’ Court in September, Mr Carpenter was offered the chance to accept an out-of-court caution in exchange for no further action.

However, he was hesitant to do so, as it would result in a criminal record.

The case was eventually adjourned before the police informed him on October 19 that proceedings against him would be dropped.

The court and police believed that Mr Carpenter had a “genuinely held belief” that he was allowed to remove the animal from the roadside.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Carpenter said he had endured a “horrible year” as a result of the proceedings.

He said: “The whole thing was pretty disturbing to start with and it was a bit of shock.

“It seemed to be far-fetched that it was stealing from the council.”

Mr Carpenter added: “I’m grateful the police dropped it but it shouldn’t have got to that stage in the first place.

“Nobody in their right mind could have thought that a prosecution was in the public interest, but I don’t know why it took five months and a superintendent to work that out.”

A Durham Police spokesman said in a statement: “There is a common misconception that deer carcasses can be removed from the roadside without permission of the landowner.

“It is, in fact, an offence to do so under the Deer Act 1991.

“However, in this specific case, we understand that Mr Carpenter had a genuinely-held belief that he was allowed to remove the animal from the roadside and the case has therefore been withdrawn.”