A MAN who snuck into a farm to have sex with a cow has appeared in court.

Liam Brown, 25, visited the farm in Burton during the middle of the night to have sexual intercourse with the cow.

He was caught after triggering an alarm set up by farmers who suspected their livestock were being abused.

A DNA sample taken from a calf proved 'intercourse' had taken place on June 12, 2022.

The defendant was known to the farmers, with some of his family members having been previously employed at the farm - which is off Martins Hill Lane.

The family who own the farm now say they want Brown "nowhere near it".

Brown, of Grosvenor Gardens in Bournemouth, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Wednesday charged with sexual penetration with a living animal and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

He had previously pleaded guilty to the charges during a brief hearing at Poole Magistrates Court on August 25, and sobbed as he gave the plea. 

The court heard that Brown had no previous convictions and had not returned to the farm since the incident.

The defendant was handed a community order for 36 months with 150 hours of unpaid work. 

He will be disqualified from owning or keeping livestock for ten years, and be ordered to pay £600 in compensation.