The four animal rights activists left behind a trail of evidence that linked them to a SIX YEAR terror campaign that culminated in the desecration of pensioner Gladys Hammond's grave. Detectives said the quartet left a raft of evidence which tied them to a methodical drawn out persecution, not only of the Halls, but the family's employees, friends and relatives. Ironically it was the meticulous planning of their campaign that led to their arrest detectives said. "What had been done before was individual acts had been investigated as specific acts," said senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Nick Baker. "It was decided that this was not truly reflecting what was going on here. We looked at all the acts in their totality." A week after the horrific desecration of Gladys Hammond's grave at St Peter's Church in Yoxall, Staffordshire, in October 2004, police searched Ablewhite's then home in Wolverhampton. There they discovered a black bin bag containing documentation stolen during a break-in at the Halls' farm in 1999, in which 600 guinea pigs were stolen, and in his bedroom were photos of the raid. Video footage of that raid was found at At John Smith's home in Riches Street Wolverhampton by detectives. As the campaign intensified, crimes against the family became more sinister. In March 2005, Sally-Ann Hall, daughter of John Hall, had an makeshift bomb made from a green plastic petrol can left on her doorstep, with cloth burning in it. Two days earlier, Josephine Mayo, wearing gloves had bought a green petrol can from a garage in Heath Hayes, near Cannock. In her Audi car was an A-Z, broken at the spine to open on the page of Ms Hall's address. A computer seized from Ablewhite's home on March 16 found a saved image of Sally-Ann's home and a sheet of car registration numbers including hers, marked SA. As part of the activists' campaign, registration numbers of vehicles visiting Darley Oaks farm were taken by spotters - men in balaclavas with binoculars. These were illegally turned into names and addresses by a collaborating civil servant, Barry Dickinson, at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Dickinson, from Kent, was jailed for five months last October for his part in the campaign. Other targets of the foursome included Dot and Rod Harvey, the husband-and-wife owners of Dove Fuels in Burntwood, who supplied petrol to the Halls. The Harveys suffered a sustained period of attack from the gang, which included bricks being hurled through their windows to vicious paedophile slurs. Yoxall Newsagents, which supplied newspapers to the Halls, was sent several letters asking it to cease. Correspondence relating to the requests was later found at Ablewhite's home. Even May Hudson, a former cleaner at the Halls' home, was targeted during the campaign. The pensioner suffered bricks through her windows, incendiary devices left outside her house and a lifesized rag doll with a noose around its neck warning she would be next. In a final act of intimidation she was warned her late husband's body would be dug up unless she abandoned her cleaning job. Forensic examination of handwritten-poetry seized during a police search of Whitburn's home suggested a link between the two items. A digital camera found at his home contained images of May Hudson's son. Police used US anti-terrorist laws formed after the 9/11 attacks in the US to secure information from Microsoft from Ablewhite's Hotmail account. On 24 May 2005, Ablewhite set up a Hotmail account on a computer at Wolverhampton City Library. He was found to have sent an email to animal rights activists titled 'Closing Down the Halls of Newchurch'. Ablewhite's email incited recipients to cause damage and harassment using his 'Ten top tips for carrying out easy yet essential home visits'. These included advice on 'a range of easy methods' to attack a target including tyre slashing and window smashing, how to make a quick escape and the best clothes to wear to do it in. The message finished: "good luck, the animals are counting on you!" A copy of the email was found under Ablewhite's mattress. | 
