A roofer has been cleared of dumping 50 dead hares and two birds outside a village shop – and exclaimed ‘tweet, tweet, tweet’ as he walked out of court.

James Kempster was accused of turning the store in Broughton, Hampshire, into a ‘horror movie scene’ by smearing blood on its windows and hurling 50 hare carcasses outside its forecourt.

However, after over two hours of deliberation, magistrates found the 39-year-old not guilty of causing criminal damage by ‘discarding’ the hares, a barn owl and a kestrel outside the shop.

They said they cannot be sure ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the individual in the shocking CCTV footage is Kempster.

However, magistrates found he had been in possession of the two dead birds at some point – which could be an ‘imprisonable offence’.

He was convicted of two counts of possessing a live or dead wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and will be sentenced for that offence in June once a report has been written.

As he left the court building, Kempster looked at reporters and said: ‘Tweet, tweet, tweet.’

Kempster’s defence barrister, Juliet Osborne, previously told the court that he ‘sits in court an innocent man and he remains one’.

A roofer has been cleared of dumping 50 dead hares and two birds outside a village shop – and exclaimed ‘tweet, tweet, tweet’ as he walked out of court

James Kempster was accused of turning a village shop into a ‘horror movie scene’ by smearing blood on its windows and hurling 50 hare carcasses outside its forecourt

Magistrates found the 39-year-old not guilty of causing criminal damage by ‘discarding’ the hares, a barn owl and a kestrel outside the shop. They said they cannot be sure ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the individual in the shocking CCTV footage is Kempster

Ms Osborne said that even if it is ‘very probable’ that he did it, then the magistrates must find him not guilty.

Kempster previously told Southampton Magistrates’ Court that he had nothing to do with the bizarre attack and he did not ‘know how my DNA got there’.

The father-of-three has continually denied any involvement or knowledge of the incident.

Ms Osborne said: ‘James Kempster sits in court an innocent man and he remains one. You must be sure of his guilt on each offence with which he is charged.

‘There is not enough evidence against Mr Kempster to be sure.

‘The crown must show he was in possession of the owl and the kestrel and caused the damage to the shop.

‘It is accepted that the service station CCTV shows Mr Kempster but shows him 26 hours before the incident took place and in clothing which does not match clothing from the shop and in a different vehicle.

‘If you walk down any high street you will see similar clothing. You cannot possible conclude based on the clothing that that person is Kempster. We say that the Crown is clutching at straws.’

Forensic experts in court disagreed about the value of the DNA technology used when examining the animals’ bodies.

She said: ‘We suggest that there is as much evidence in this case against James Kempster as there is against his brother. You might think that we have the right family but the wrong brother and therefore you cannot convict him.’

Kempster had previously told the court: ‘I can’t remember last night never mind two years ago.

‘I went to Broughton years ago but I don’t know the area well. I have not been to the shop.

‘I don’t know how my DNA got there. I spend everyday more or less with my brother. The only reason I can explain it is transferable DNA.

‘I admit that the clothing is similar. I do not know who did it. The CCTV in Broughton is not me.’

Adam Cooper, prosecuting, previously said: ‘We don’t need to understand why this took place or why Kempster did this. We only need to be certain of the evidence.’

Chair of the Magistrates Bench, Kevin White, concluded: ‘It is an offence to be in the possession of a dead wild bird. Possession is sufficient.

‘Possession is established by the DNA evidence. There is significant likelihood on the barn owl and a less significant but it is still present on the kestrel.

‘We found that the defendant did have the birds in his possession and therefore guilty on counts one and two.

‘It is not sufficient to positively identify the criminal damage.

‘We found that the logo on the trousers did not match the one on the CCTV.

‘We cannot be sure beyond reasonable doubt that the individual is Kempster.’

The court previously heard that Kempster had arrived at the shop in Broughton, Hampshire, at 3.23am wearing a balaclava and a tracksuit before ‘discarding’ the dead bodies of 50 hares – which he denied.

Prosecutors alleged he started ‘ripping’ hares in half as he tossed them on the ground – leaving ‘blood dripping on the floor’.

CCTV footage shows the bodies of hares being flung onto the patio outside the village shop before the carcasses of two birds were stuffed onto its door handles.

Kempster denied any involvement in the incident – saying that he did not know what had happened and only heard of the incident when he saw it on the news.

He said that if he knew someone involved then he would not tell on them because he is ‘not a grass’.

He said that the only way that his DNA could have been found on the dead birds could be through ‘transferable DNA’.

Kempster appeared in court wearing a similar jacket to one seized by the police, but claimed that his current one was bought new for his birthday last year.

Prosecutors previously told the court they still do not ‘understand why’ the attack took place.

Two other men were seen accompanying Kempster on CCTV but have not been charged.

Prosecutors said Kempster, who was not wearing gloves, was identified due to matching DNA, phone tracking and matching clothing.

The 4×4 that the three men allegedly used was later found burned out around 3.5 miles away from the shop by the police.

Members of the village community came to help clear up the animals – with one farmer putting so many hares in a bag that became so heavy that they ‘could not lift it off the ground’.

They were later disposed of on a nearby compost heap.

The incident happened outside Broughton Community Shop at 3:23am on March 15, 2024.

The silver Suzuki Vitara 4×4, which was captured on CCTV, was parked outside the shop for around three minutes before driving off.

The seller of the car, which was bought a few months before the incident, had taken a phone number which belonged to Kempster’s sister-in-law, Bridie Smith.

Kempster, who lives in a caravan park in Totton, Hampshire, was arrested on March 28, 2024, and taken to the police station to be interviewed.

At Southampton Magistrates’ Court, he was tried for two counts of possessing a live or dead wild birds under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and one count of criminal damage related to the village shop.

He denied he had any involvement.

Feathers and blood remained on the handles of the doors after Kempster allegedly put the birds there.

He will be sentenced on June 23 in relation to the possession of the dead wild birds.

He will be on bail until then with conditions not to enter Broughton.