Debt-hit rustler steals 73 ewes from neighbour

A farmer under "financial pressure" stole more than 70 pregnant sheep from a neighbour, a court has heard.

Hywel Williams, 40, from Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to the theft of 73 ewes from Rhodri Llyr Evans.

Sheep were found on Williams' farm following a tip-off in March, some of them without their identifying ear tags. Others were recovered from an abattoir and an auction mart while some had also been given to another farmer to pay off a debt.

Williams was handed a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work and to pay more than £5,000 in compensation.

Williams, who lives on his 270-acre farm with his 81-year-old uncle, told Aberystwyth Magistrates' Court he "deeply" regretted his actions.

He said he had the sheep because he was under financial pressure and accepted his actions were "unacceptable and feels ashamed".

Mr Evans said the theft had put "unbearable stress" on his family and business.

The sheep stolen were all ewes in lamb, in an area which has seen the highest proportion of livestock theft in the UK between April 2024 and March 2025, the court heard.