A YOUNG animal rights extremist from Newquay has been jailed for her part in a campaign which included sending hoax bombs to people linked to an animal testing lab.

Nicole Vosper, 22, of Bay View Terrace, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to blackmail.

She was part of a group of six that had devoted itself to closing down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a controversial research company in Cambridgeshire.

Winchester Crown Court heard on Monday that the gang had targeted the company's supply firms with abusive calls, threats of violence and criminal damage.

Claiming

They distributed leaflets in some workers' communities falsely claiming they were paedophiles, while other employees received used tampons in the post accompanied by a letter saying the blood was HIV positive.

The group of three men and three women also vandalised people's cars, spraying words such as "puppy killer", "murderer" and "scum" on the bodywork.

Overall, around 40 companies were hit by the activists, racking up a combined bill of £12.6 million due to damage and the need for boosted security.

The sentences are the result of a police operation which saw Vosper arrested and bailed following 34 separate police raids, involving 700 police officers in the UK, The Netherlands and Belgium, on May 1, 2007.

Vosper, who was a member of SHAC (Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty), also received a five-year antisocial behaviour order.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Robbins, of Kent police, who led the operation, said: "The sentences are a fitting reflection of the systematic and relentless intimidation of individuals and their employers, carried out by a small group of criminals.

"The criminal tactics employed by members of SHAC – which ranged from sending threatening e-mails to placing explosive devices – were designed to create a climate of fear among their victims.

"Such tactics have no place in a democratic society and in no way reflect the peaceful protests carried out by the vast majority of legitimate animal welfare campaigners.

"The police service remains committed to facilitating the peaceful protest of the majority but, as we have seen today, we will not tolerate individuals who try and use crime to force their targets into submission."

Belly-dancing

The Cornish Guardian reported on September 15 that vegan Vosper had been at HMP Bronzefield in Middlesex since March 19, 2009, where she had been taking belly-dancing lessons.

A recent letter posted online reveals she has been enjoying gardening over the summer and visiting a Pagan chaplain at the prison.

She wrote: "Recently I've been thinking a lot about those that are forgotten – the animals. Who sheds a tear when they die? They have no one to honour them, no recognition of their sacredness or beauty; and all those animals in labs who end up being thrown into plastic bins, their bodies full of toxic chemicals, just thrown into an incinerator; and all those beautiful chickens, whose bones the girls in here so easily throw away.

"I think of their lives, wonder what their personalities were like, how they felt, what they desired."