Three women accused of stealing three lambs from a farm on a royal estate told police they believed King Charles III "would have consented to their rescue", a court has heard.

Sarah Foy, 26, Rose Patterson, 37, and Rosa Sharkey, 26, are on trial charged with theft, following an incident in May 2023 in Sandringham, Norfolk.

The members of campaign group Animal Rising appeared on Tuesday at Norwich Crown Court, where a jury heard they had told police they could not give the lambs back because it would "expose them to unlawful welfare standards".

The three defendants handed themselves in to Windsor police station the day after the lambs were taken on 24 May, but deny charges of theft.

There, they posed for photographs outside the gates of Windsor Castle holding signs, including ones saying: "I rescued the King's sheep."

But by that time, the lambs had already been offloaded to someone else and they remain missing, the court heard.

In a statement read out in court, the head stockman Gordon Robinson said he recognised "immediately" that the lambs were taken from Appleton Farm in Sandringham, after seeing videos of the animals being taken on social media.

He said he had a "great deal of experience" rearing lambs and the farm had passed recent Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) inspections.

The court heard after the trio had handed themselves in to police they read out a prepared statement explaining why they had taken the animals, saying they had "taken necessary steps to rescue three lambs from Sandringham estate".

It continued: "I understand they cannot be returned or they will be exposed to what I believe to be unlawful welfare standards and harm and eventually killed for their meat."

The trio said their actions were "necessary and justified" and that they believed the King, or anyone responsible for their care, "would have consented to their rescue".

Prosecutor Dingle Clark said there was "no dispute" the three women had taken the lambs, valued between £400 and £500 in total, and the issue was whether they had acted "dishonestly".

Clark added: "It may be they have reasons… none of that removes the fact that this was property taken from another, keeping it and acting dishonestly."

Ms Foy, of North Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire; Ms Patterson, of Homerton High Street, London, and Ms Sharkey, of Mayville Estate, London, have each been charged with:

The trial, expected to last four days, continues.

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