A MAN from East Peckham is this week standing trial at Lincoln Crown Court accused of causing thousands of pounds-worth of damage in a raid on a farm.

Lewis Pogson, 23, is alleged to have been part of an animal activist gang who seized rabbits and vandalised four vehicles after breaking in to a business connected to research firm Huntingdon Life Sciences.

A jury heard intruders broke into Highgate Farm, near Lincoln, and stole 129 New Zealand white rabbits bred specifically for research.

They daubed animal rights slogans on walls.

Farmer Jeffrey Douglas woke the next morning to discover paint stripper poured over his Lamborghini car and the tyres slashed.

Expandable foam had been sprayed inside the exhaust and it cost him £56,000 to repair.

A van, a quad bike and a ride-on lawnmower were also vandalised in the raid in the early hours of January 7, 2008.

Felicity Gerry, prosecuting, said the raid was designed to persuade Mr Douglas to stop trading with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

She said Lewis Pogson, an animal rights activist with links to protest group SHAC which targets Huntingdon Life Sciences and its suppliers, was one of those involved.

A pair of bolt croppers used in the raid were later found in the garage of Pogson's mother's home in Dulwich, London, along with what was described as a burglary kit.

Miss Gerry said: "There were also green khaki overalls inside a package."

She said the overalls were of the same type worn by a man caught on film taken by SHAC protestors while they carried out the raid.

The footage was later posted on the internet.

"There is no real dispute what was found in the garage is what was used and worn in that raid on the farm," she told the jury.

She said a large shopping bag found at the Dulwich house contained small pieces of straw and hay, suggesting it could have been used to transport some of the rabbits away from the farm.

Fingerprints matching those of Pogson were found on plastic bags at the house which contained a headtorch and overalls.

The jury was told Pogson refused to answer any questions when interviewed at Worthing police station in July 2008. In a prepared statement handed to officers by Pogson's solicitor, he denied being in Lincolnshire at the time of raid.

Pogson, 23, of Bush Road, denies charges of blackmail, criminal damage, theft of rabbits and interfering with a contractual relationship on January 7, 2008.

The trial continues