A FORMER teacher at the centre of an RSPCA cruelty case will have to wait two weeks before hearing the judge's verdict.
Almost three weeks of lengthy legal arguments came to a conclusion yesterday as to whether Colin Shaw caused unnecessary suffering to his collection of exotic pets.
The 41-year-old, from Market Crescent, Wingate, County Durham, was accused of keeping animals such as alligators, pythons, terrapins, anacondas and turtles in "squalid conditions in a ramshackle, dilapidated, stand-alone barn".
He has maintained his innocence throughout, denying 27 separate charges.
Yesterday, as proceedings drew to a close at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court, District Judge Tony Browne told Mr Shaw that in order to come to a fair conclusion he would need time to consider all of the evidence.
Anne-Marie Gregory, representing Mr Shaw, said her client spent hours looking after his animals, which all had individual names and characters and urged Judge Browne to find him not guilty.
The verdict is expected on Wednesday, July 30.
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