Press release from Norfolk Constabulary (20th February 2024):
Norfolk man illegally collected almost 3,000 eggs
A prolific egg collector has admitted illegally hoarding thousands of rare birds’ eggs in Norfolk.
Daniel Lingham, 71, of Newton St Faith, appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court on Tuesday 20 February 2024 where he pleaded guilty to five offences.
They were:
-Taking eggs from a non-schedule 1 wild bird namely a Nightjar on 9 June 2023 at Holt
-Possessing an egg or its parts of a non-schedule 1 wild bird – namely 2429 eggs on 25 July 2023
-Possessing an egg or its parts of a schedule 1 wild bird – namely 22 Schedule 1 bird eggs on July 2023
-Possessing articles capable of being used to identify and take eggs
-Breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order on 9 June 2023
Lingham, who has two previous convictions for similar crimes, was captured on a wildlife trap camera on 9 June 2023 sealing two eggs from a Nightjar nest in Holt Lowes.
Investigators were shown the footage and were able to identify Lingham by his distinctive walking stick which is seen in shot.
A police search of his home on July 25 2023 subsequently revealed the extent of his hoard.
Within the property a total of 2995 eggs were found. A large collection was in his bedroom including some non-native species, alongside 2429 native birds’ eggs protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Of those 548 were from native birds on the amber list of birds of conservation concern and a further 546 were of the most serious concern on the red list including Linnet, Green Finch, Yellowhammer, House Sparrow and many more.
A further collection of eggs – which looked much newer – was found behind the bath panel including a box containing a pair of Nightjar eggs with a label ‘Nightjar 2, Holt Lowes June 9.’
Officers also found identifying books, binoculars, and an egg blowing kit.
In interview Lingham said all of the eggs, bar the Nightjar ones, had been taken before his previous conviction in 2018 – although the way they were stored suggested otherwise.
He further claimed a collection on display in a cabinet in the bedroom had come from an Essex house clearance and while they were his he had not taken them himself from the wild.
He said he had been looking for adders and tiger beetles when he was “tempted” by the Nightjar eggs due to his egg collecting addiction, which was a mental health issue.
Lingham has previously been investigated and prosecuted.
In 2005 he was jailed for ten weeks after police found a collection of almost 4,000 eggs in his home.
Then in 2018 he was found to be in possession of over 5,000 eggs for which he was jailed for 18 weeks and handed a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order aimed at stopping him from committing similar crimes in the future.
Under the CBO he is banned from entering Holt Lowes between 1 February and 1 October as well as many other sites across Norfolk and nationally – many of which appeared on place name labels among the boxes.
PC Chris Shelley from the Op Randall Rural Crime Team thanked RSPB investigators for their huge support throughout the investigation and also the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU).
He said: “Egg collecting should be a hobby that is confined to the history books having been made illegal in 1954. The illegal collecting of eggs is tackled every year under Operation Easter with forces and partner agencies nationally taking part in bringing those involved to justice, all overseen and facilitated by the NWCU.
“Thankfully there are very few individuals now committing this crime but these few, including Lingham, cause a huge amount of harm to 1000s of birds including some of our most at risk species – in this case Nightjar, Linnet, Yellow Hammer and House Sparrows to name just a few.
“We would always encourage anyone who sees suspicious activity around bird nests in the coming months to report as much detail as possible using our online form or 999 if in progress.”
Tom Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: “The scale of egg theft which Lingham has committed over the last 20 years is shocking. Sadly, his obsession with collecting wild birds’ eggs has ultimately resulted in thousands of breeding birds, which have invested huge amounts of energy into rearing young, to fail.
“We’re relieved that this type of crime is now relatively rare in the UK, but this latest case has revealed that the breeding success of the Nightjar, a species of conservation concern, has again been targeted in Norfolk by Lingham’s illegal actions.
“We’d like to thank Norfolk Police for an excellent investigation which has again led to Lingham’s prosecution.”
He will appear for sentencing on 3 May 2024.
ENDS
As mentioned in the press release, the last time Lingham was convicted (in 2018 for stealing Marsh harrier eggs, amongst many others, here) as well as a short custodial sentence he was also given a ten-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from all Norfolk Nature Reserves for ten years.
According to the Sentencing Council, ‘a CBO is an order designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals where their behaviour has brought them before a criminal court’.
Lingham has clearly breached his CBO and the consequences of that could mean a lengthy custodial sentence depending on the court’s view of mitigating and aggravating factors (see here).
Let’s see what happens when he’s sentenced on 3rd May 2024.
Well done to Norfolk Constabulary’s Rural Wildlife Crime, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the RSPB’s Investigations Team for getting a successful conviction.
UPDATE 6 May 2024: Serial egg thief Daniel Lingham avoids custodial sentence (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
Its obvious this chap deffinately has a serious problem with egg collecting, it’s obvious a slap on the wrist will not detere him from going right out and starting again.
“He said he had been looking for adders and tiger beetles when he was “tempted” by the Nightjar eggs due to his egg collecting addiction, which was a mental health issue.”
‘Mental health issue’ my foot. Does he have a vast collection of hen’s eggs from Sainsbury’s, then?
He wants his theiving hands chopped off
I do believe that this guy is ill, but equally our wildlife deserves to be protected from individuals like this. And the law is there to be obeyed, not ignored.
“I do believe that this guy is ill…”
Based on… his word? OCD is an extremely easy excuse for any criminal ‘collector/thief’ to make, and has (most notoriously) often been used in an attempt to ‘excuse’ repeated viewing of child pornography, for example. The courts do not buy it.
People may perform compulsive behaviors to counteract unwanted thoughts that they find extremely distressing. What are this person’s ‘unwanted thoughts’ which he finds so distressing and which can be counteracted only by stealing eggs?
And why do the eggs he steals have to be quite so rare? How is that connected to any ‘illness’?
From November 2018, Eastern Daily Press: “(His Solicitor) said it started as a young boy when his father, who he had a difficult relationship with, would praise him if he collected rare eggs.”
Ha! First, pity-seeking (difficult relationship) and then, the improbable excuse (collecting rare eggs) – how convenient. The Courts didn’t buy that argument, either then or in 2005.
Let’s hope they do not fall for it now.
He not ill ,bang him up ,the usual mental health excuse
This guy is obviously mental and should be put on a tag and curfew for the next 25 breeding seasons.
Egg-collecting addiction? Result of a MH issue?
Sorry matey, but as a retired senior MH nurse of over 30 years experience that is really pushing your luck. It’s the sort of attempt at a “diagnosis” that I would argue with psychiatrists about, only to find that they didn’t have any evidence, just an opinion…
that will stop him re-offending.with a much longer jail sentence, he should receive a very high fine
He should definitely be jailed for a long term. Then tagged during nesting season for a very long time.what a pathetic individual.
I am just shocked he did it again, having already been convicted of the same crime before.
This 10 week sentence is not enough to give him a clue it is illegal, he needed at least 10 years.
People like him have been steeling eggs to sell overseas, to other collectors, and its highly likely he has also sold eggs, he will soon build up his collection once he is back out, perhaps he should be tagged for life so his actions, and location can be properly monitored.
These miniscule sentences are not a deterrent, just a hinderence.
Suggesting it is because of mental health is a very poor excuse.
I just hope he does not have an opportunity to go steal eggs again, but suspect he will probably do it on his way home from the prison, tagged for life.
Personally I don’t feel its enough of a sentence, 10 weeks will give him time to search for new locations to find eggs, and will probably be released after 4 weeks for good behaviour..
His actions sicken me.
[Ed: I think you’ve misread the press release. He hasn’t been sentenced yet. Due 3rd May]
I apologise, I had been reading his previous convictions, as well as this most recent crime, and understand that as yet he has not been sentenced for this offence, the problem is, I have been studying many different cases recently, and mixed things up.
But my overall wish is still the same, he needs a very long custodial sentence, with a very hefty fine.
He needs to be tagged for life, and any future crimes against wildlife should be dealt with by a full life sentence, no parole, and most importantly life should mean until his life ends.
He has shown absolutely no remorse for his previous crimes, and has not learned a lesson.
At his age using mental health as an excuse for his crimes is disgusting, there are people put there who do actually suffer from mental health issues, and would never use it as an excuse for commiting crimes deliberately, and repeatedly.
His ignorance, and arrogance regarding egg theft is not acceptable, not on any level, having been convicted twice before he should have taken it as a message that it is illegal, but to then do it again is beyond stupid, and sad.
I hope he rots in jail, and never has a chance to steal another egg, not even a chicken egg.
However regardless as to what I think should happen, I do not think the cps will see it in the same light, and I expect he will get another slap on the wrist, and be allowed to go back out and do it again, the while criminal justice system needs an overhaul, especially when it comes to wildlife crimes, a minimum sentence of 5 years prison for first offence, with NO reduction for good behaviour, and second should be minimum of 10years, 20 for any subsequent offences.
This whole business of reduced time for good behaviour is just ridiculous, the whole point of prison is to reform these characters, and make them behave good, so rewarding this is just counter productive, this essentially is a tool criminal can use to get out of jail sooner.
I hear a lot of human rights talk with regards prison, I strongly believe that if someone commits a crime they have given up their human rights, and should be punished, all this nonsense of tv, and games machines in a cell is just like them being on holiday, and in some cases they have better living conditions inside, than if they had not been sentenced, these criminals should be made to earn their keep while inside, this would teach them about pride in their work, and in many cases would show them the value of earning your own money, not stealing other people’s property to sell for your own gains.
However hr will never be beaten, even when it should be revoked.
I hope he does time, and is never left alone to continue his diabolical crime spree, which I might add has already been happening far to many years.
Jail this pathetic individual for a long time.and tag him every nesting season. Pulling the old mental health card again don’t be fooled by this.look at the harm the scum has done over the years
Shouldn’t he be sectioned if his addiction cannot be controlled.He is obviously very skilled, even eggs from abroad.
A long sentence in a mental institution please.
Short custodial confinements apparently do not work for this individual and I personally do not think a further incarceration will act as a deterrent. Tagging during the breeding season appears to be a good possibility, along with a hefty fine relative to his financial status.
Egg collecting an obsession…..bollocks. More like an omelette obsession.
He needs [Ed: I’m obviously not going to publish that]
I’m speechless and shocked can’t believe it obviously another complete nutter needs sectioning and tagging OCD at worst.
As someone who collected eggs as a child (when I learnt a huge amount about ornithology and which led to a lifelong career in nature conservation), I have some sympathy with the ‘mental illness’ tag, because I still to this day find the sight of a clutch of eggs – or even a nest in a distant treetop – to be overwhelmingly ‘moving’. Collecting eggs is clearly an addiction that is difficult to overcome. I’m delighted to look at them, but the fabulous sensation of having one in my hand is still very real in my head.
I’d say that the difference between an ‘obsession’ and a metal illness is in the physical manifestation. When the person exhibits pronounced breathing difficulties, tachycardia, uncontrollable sweating, hypertension etc associated with panic, then that is a mental illness.
Just as an ‘addiction’ to stamp collecting (or, even ‘twitching’) is nowhere near the same as an addiction to Fentanyl, say.