Christopher Wheeldon was caught on camera rappelling down a cliff face to steal falcon eggs
A father-of-two went to great lengths to fund his heroin addiction – by abseiling down a quarry wall to steal rare peregrine falcon eggs.
Christopher Wheeldon was caught on a hidden wildlife camera, set up to monitor the nest, rappelling down a cliff face while hooked up to a harness.
An adult bird guarding the nest can be heard desperately calling out in distress but the 34-year-old tree surgeon was not deterred by its efforts to fend him off.
He is seen reaching into the nest and removing the valuable eggs, which can even fetch thousands of pounds on the middle eastern avian market.
They are popular with criminal collectors who build up an assortment of eggs from a variety of rare species.
After placing the prized eggs in a bag and securing it over his shoulder, Wheeldon then calls out to an accomplice to help him scale back up Bolsover Moor Quarry in Derbyshire.
His spree didn’t end there though – he then committed a number of thefts from different shops to pay for drugs.
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Wheeldon, 34, was jailed for 18 weeks for multiple offences (Picture: DerbyshireLive/BPM Media)
Wheeldon, from Matlock, Derbyshire, was jailed for 18 weeks after the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) shared the footage with police officers who recognised him.
‘It seems even the birds are not beyond your thieving grasp,’ district judge Stephen Flint told Wheeldon at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court.
‘You may see them simply as eggs for profit but this causes damage to the environment and it is a deplorable thing to do.
‘In your state, hanging off anything, whether it’s a quarry wall or a tree, is not the best thing to do.’
An RSPB camera placed in the quarry to check on the nest captured Wheeldon in the act (Picture: RSPB)
Lynn Bickley, prosecuting, said the theft of the eggs took place at the quarry in Whaley Road, Whaley, on April 23 last year.
She said the nest was being monitored by the RSPB who had placed a covert camera close by during a previous check-up to film the development of the unborn chicks.
‘Just after 4pm, the peregrines can be seen and heard “alarm calling” with the female on the nest turning her head and looking upwards,’ Miss Bickley said.
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‘A green rope comes into view and Mr Wheeldon can be seen carrying a box and an insulated bag.
‘He reaches into the nest three times, puts the eggs in the box and the box in the insulated bag. He then calls up “pull” to someone who is above him.
‘The two peregrines can still be heard alarm calling and remained at the site until 12.10pm the following day.’
A judge told Wheeldon, a father-of-two who has worked as a tree surgeon, that his actions were ‘deplorable’ (Picture: RSPB)
When police paid a visit to Wheeldon’s address at the time in Lime Grove, Darley Dale, they found the ropes and spikes he used to carry out the egg raid.
Miss Bickley told the court that Derbyshire is a ‘hotspot’ for thefts of peregrine falcon eggs and is the second worst county in England for the number of offences committed.
Wheeldon, now of Wheatley Gardens, Two Dales, pleaded guilty to charges of disturbing the nesting site of a protected bird, taking the eggs of a protected bird.
He also admitted to five counts of shoplifting – four of which were committed in the first week of January this year at stores in the Matlock area.
The eggs, which can sell for thousands in middle eastern avian markets, have not been recovered (Picture: RSPB)
Clare James, mitigating, said her client has two young children aged four and 11, is a qualified tree surgeon and used to work on the railways until he was sacked following a positive alcohol and drug test.
She said he then worked for Chesterfield Town Council until losing his job when he lost his driving licence for drug driving in 2021.
Miss James added: ‘There is nothing I can say in relation to the offence in terms of mitigation. He abseiled down the cliff to get the eggs and he says he can’t give an explanation why he did it himself.’
An RSPB spokesman said: ‘Sadly, no eggs or peregrines were recovered.
‘It is considered likely that the eggs were destined to be laundered by being artificially incubated, and when hatched, the chicks passed off as “legal” captive-reared birds.’
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He was caught on a hidden camera.