By Police now “reviewing” Cleethorpes Boating Lake incident which killed goose and injured five
Humberside Police have confirmed they are now reviewing an incident which took place at Cleethorpes Boating Lake on Sunday 24 October in which a man drove a van into a gaggle of geese, killing one and injuring five in the process.
In a statement released last night, Chief Inspector Paul French from Humberside Police said: “We understand the emotions and impact that this incident has had and we would like to thank everyone for assisting with our enquiries.
“A thorough review of the incident continues, with a number of active enquiries progressing this afternoon and evening.
“If you witnessed this incident, or have any information, please contact us on 101 quoting log 460 of Sunday 24 October.”
The incident angered many local residents, with one commenting on the video of the perpetrator driving away: “Takes a big man to purposely hurt an animal! I bet he wouldn’t have approached if it were an animal that would fight back.”
“Absolutely disgusting… heartless pigs, hope they get what they deserve. Makes me so upset that anyone could hurt any living thing. Some people are pure evil,” commented another.
Humberside Police confirming they are “reviewing” the incident comes after the force released a statement on Wednesday afternoon (27 October), which stated they would not be pursuing criminal charges against the van driver.
The statement read: “The driver of the van contacted us following the social media surrounding the incident.
“Officers have now spoken to the driver concerned who is extremely remorseful about his actions, for causing the death of the goose and for the distress caused to the public.
“It was decided that criminal action will not be taken against the driver on this occasion and he has offered to make a donation to the Cleethorpes Animal Sanctuary.”
However, the force’s initial decision to not take criminal action against the driver caused outrage on social media, with Cleethorpes Animal Sanctuary writing on their Facebook page: “This is a deflating result for wildlife, not only on this occasion, but for all the cases of abuse that occur.
“It’s very easy to be ‘remorseful’ after you’ve been caught out – not that it brings any justice for the life that was killed and others that were injured.
“Although all rescues struggle with funds and the costs are unimaginable, that doesn’t mean your actions are cleared by ‘making a donation’.”
When asked whether the man has made the donation to Cleethorpes Animal Sanctuary, the voluntary organisation told Gi Media: “As we don’t know who they are and they haven’t made contact with us we wouldn’t be able to say yes or no sadly. We don’t think so is all we could say.”
