Animal rescuer awarded huge sum in damages from cops — after being arrested for nicking a chicken

ANIMAL rescuer Edward White has been awarded £10,000 damages from police — who wrongfully arrested him for nicking a chicken.

Edward, 51, took in the bird, a Light Sussex, after it was found wandering by a road.

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He posted a snap online to try to trace the owner only to find officers knocking at his door.

They hauled him off over claims he had stolen the chicken.

But when the allegation fell apart and he was released four hours later, officers refused to apologise.

Edward sued and has been awarded the payout with legal costs in a Covid-delayed case.

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He said: “It was a joke of an arrest. I was expecting Jeremy Beadle to step out at any point.”

Edward has run an animal sanctuary with wife Ann-Marie for ten years in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

But it was not enough to convince officers of his innocence when they arrested him in 2021.

He said: “I told them, ‘It’s what we do. We rescue chickens’.

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"But they kept questioning me. I couldn’t keep a straight face.

"They asked what type of chicken it was so I said a KFC but with feathers.”

The man who found the chicken eventually confirmed his story but Edward has still not had an apology.

Cumbria Police declined to comment.