A pre-trial case management hearing due to take place at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on 29 January 2026 has been delayed.
Brian Chorlton, 87, of Morkery Lane, Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire, was summoned to court in April 2025 following reports that birds of prey were being poisoned in the Castle Bytham area.
In May 2025, Chorlton appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to 11 charges relating to the unapproved or unlawful storage of the chemical Aldicarb, possession of a poisoner’s kit, and possession and use of four pole traps. The trial was set to take place in October 2025.
However, on 18 September 2025 a pre-trial case management hearing took place at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court where the defence submitted three separate legal arguments calling for the case to be dismissed.
The District Judge rejected all three legal arguments and the application to dismiss the case was rejected.
The District Judge said he intended for the trial to proceed in October but offered a further case management hearing, due to take place one week later, to allow the defence time to consider the ruling.
That second case management trial took place on 25 September 2025 and the defence announced its intention to apply to the High Court for Judicial Review of the judge’s earlier ruling.
This meant the October 2025 trial date was vacated and the judge ordered a further case management hearing for 29 January 2026 where the defence was expected to provide an update on its application for judicial review.
That case management hearing has now also been vacated as the defence is still waiting for a decision from the High Court on whether its application for judicial review can progress to a full hearing.
This could take some time.
NB: As criminal proceedings are still live, comments have been switched off.
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