THREE men were appearing in court today accused of conspiring to blackmail the owners of a Midland guinea pig breeding farm at the centre of a hate campaign by animal rights activists.
The men, aged 35, 36 and 38, were arrested by officers investigating the theft of a pensioner's body from a graveyard last year.
They faced blackmail charges against the owners of Darley Oaks Farm in Newchurch, Staffs, who include the dead pensioner's son-in-law David Hall, when they appeared before Burton-upon-Trent magistrates.
A woman who was also charged yesterday with plotting to blackmail the farm owners was bailed to appear before the same court on October 11.
All four were held on Tuesday in a pre-planned operation at addresses in Manchester and the West Midlands in connection with the theft of the remains of 82-year-old Gladys Hammond.
