DEER KILLER'S 'LETHAL LOAD' AIR RIFLE

Fury as poacher dodges prison after being caught with animal carcass in his home

AN illegal hunter who used a high-powered Texan air rifle to kill a deer was caught with its carcass in his home.

John Smedley, 56, admitted killing a roe deer without permission in Morham, East Lothian, and having the animal's dead body in his possession last year.

He pleaded guilty to a third charge of possessing a Texan air rifle lethal load weapon without lawful authority in the same month.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday, Smedley, 56, from Haddington, who has a previous conviction for the same deer-hunting offence, was fined and ordered to perform 60 hours of unpaid work.

He was blasted by Sheriff Matthew Auchinloss after trying to claim that shooting the animals was deemed "acceptable" in the area.