Mail Online

Thug who tortured hedgehog is jailed

By Alexander Lawrie

A SADISTIC thug who tortured a hedgehog to death by stamping on it and stabbing it with a knife has been jailed for 20 months.

Niall Sheriden, 22, also battered the animal with a pool cue and a wet floor sign during the horrific 20-minute attack at a homeless unit in Loanhead, Midlothian.

He then threatened police officers he would ‘slit their throats’ and target their families following his arrest on July 12.

A post-mortem examination by a vet found the hedgehog probably endured ‘significant and unnecessary pain and suffering’ and had not died instantaneously.

Sheriden appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court by video link from Low Moss prison last month where he pled guilty to a number of charges including causing a protected animal unnecessary suffering before killing it.

He was in the dock for sentencing yesterday where David Storrie, defending, said his client had consumed an ‘alarming amount of vodka and Buckfast’ as well as Valium before the incident.

Sheriff Daniel Kelly told Sheriden he had committed a ‘cruel and prolonged’ attack on the animal and had ‘caused significant injuries and ultimately its death’.

The sheriff added: ‘It does have to be recognised that this was horrific, and a horrific way to treat an animal.’

Sheriden, from Gorebridge, Midlothian, was jailed for 20 months and banned from owning or keeping any animal for ten years.

Maxwell Trial: Day 3

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