AN ovine identity parade is to be staged to allow members of an accused farming family to pinpoint sheep they claim to own.

Members of the Raine family, who have farm holdings between Brough and Bowes, in County Durham, are to attend the inspection at a mart in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, to give them the chance of claiming ownership of any of 115 allegedly stolen sheep.

They were among 150 sheep recovered by police from land owned by the Raines, which were suspected to have been stolen from other farms in County Durham, North Yorkshire and Cumbria, between 2010 and 2013.

The rightful owners pinpointed 115 at a previous inspection held at Kirkby Stephen in November, 2013, recognising them through distinctive markings, horn burns and ear tags.

It is part of the process being carried out ahead of further court proceedings in the case, which has been provisionally pencilled in for a trial of between six and eight weeks, later this year.

Albert John Raine, his brother Charles Neville, Albert’s sons Peter Mark and Philip Albert, and Philip’s long term partner Shirley Anne Straughan are all charged under the money laundering section of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

It is alleged that they “made gain” from the use of up to 115 stolen sheep, through breeding, lambing and from EU single payment subsidies, by bolstering their stock inventory in records held by the Government agriculture department, Defra.

All five appeared at a preliminary hearing in the case at Durham Crown Court on Friday (February 13) on a joint charge of using criminal property, knowing or believing they were stolen, to make gain.

Prosecutor Sam Faulks told a previous hearing the 115 sheep were recovered from the family’s farm holdings, “situated along the A66 corridor”, mostly from Hazel Gill Farm, but a handful also from Coach and Horses and High West Wales Field.

Following next week’s inspection, a plea hearing will take place at Teesside Crown Court next month, with a provisional start date for a trial, if required, of October 26.

Albert John Raine, 69, of East Pasture End Farm, Charles Neville Raine, 65, and 41-year-old Peter Mark Raine, both of Coach and Horses, Stainmore Road, and Philip Albert Raine, 46, and 41-year-old Shirley Anne Straughan, both of Hazel Gill Farm, all in the Bowes area, were bailed to appear at Teesside Crown Court on March 13, when pleas will be taken.