A TEACHER, a nurse, his besotted receptionist girlfriend and a veteran activist were the disparate characters behind an animal rights campaign of terror that culminated in the theft of a grandmother’s body.

With the final guilty plea submitted yesterday, The Times can reveal the backgrounds of those responsible for six years of intimidation and violence at a guinea pig breeding farm.

The four extremists were due to stand trial in less than two weeks for conspiring to blackmail the farm’s owners. They had always denied the charge but three changed their plea on Monday and the fourth member of the gang, Josephine Mayo, followed suit yesterday. All face substantial jail terms when sentenced next month.

Mayo, 38, is the girlfriend of Kerry Whitburn, a former psychiatric nurse with a troubled upbringing. He admitted his role in the hate campaign at a court hearing alongside John Ablewhite, a supply teacher, and John Smith, a veteran activist. Mayo, who lives with Whitburn, 36, in Birmingham, was granted conditional bail. The pair were heavily involved in the campaign against Darley Oaks Farm, in Newchurch, Staffordshire, and she is thought to have played a part in a firebomb attack on the home of the daughter of its owners.

Unlike her boyfriend, Mayo was not believed to be a driving force in the plot to steal the body of Gladys Hammond, the 82-year-old mother-in-law of the farm’s co-owner, Chris Hall. But rather than being repulsed by the desecration of the grave, Mayo’s admiration for Whitburn deepened — their romantic relationship did not begin until after the theft of the remains in October 2004. Mayo seemed not to realise the ramifications of her actions until Monday’s court appearance; she sobbed on discovering that she faced a six-year sentence.

The three men, who were remanded in custody, are expected to receive jail sentences of about 12 years. They were described by the judge as “cold-blooded defenders of their perceived cause”.

Whitburn, who has a string of convictions, published letters on animal rights websites while in prison on remand for other animal rights charges. In one he complained about problems over vegan prison meals, adding: “The only issue I felt grieved [sic] about, apart from the fact I was locked up for 23.5 hours a day, is the lack of non-leather prison shoes.”

Whitburn, who spent part of his childhood in care homes, was previously arrested for demonstrating at the home of a pharmaceutical company director, climbing on to the roof of a bank director and blockading a fuel terminal.

Ablewhite, the son of a retired vicar, has a middle-class background. He grew up in Aldridge, near Walsall, and was the co-founder of Save Newchurch Guinea Pigs, which led the campaign against the farm and village between 1999 and 2005. Tactics included attacks on anyone with connections with the farm. The newsagent stopped delivering newspapers and a company refused to supply tractor fuel when a brick was thrown through the owner’s bedroom window.

The Halls had to sell their dairy herd after the company collecting the milk became a target, and abandoned their turkey business when the gas supplier was attacked. Chris Hall’s brother, John, resigned from the local golf club after its greens were dug up. His former solicitor, glazier, vet and a restaurant also withdrew their services on receiving threats.

Ablewhite ran the campaign while teaching in Wolverhampton. He vowed to return to the classroom and teach children about animal rights and veganism before he was remanded in custody last autumn.

Smith, 39, from Wolverhampton, is well connected within the animal rights movement. He tried to obscure his identity by changing his name. He went on the run for years after driving into a butcher’s shop window and was arrested for arson.

Mrs Hammond’s body was removed at night from a village churchyard. The family were told that it would be returned if the guinea pig operation ceased. They closed that side of their business this year but the location of Mrs Hammond’s remains is still unknown.

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