A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Silsden farmer after a judge and two magistrates threw out his appeal against a six-month prison sentence.

In October, last year, David Holmes was found guilty in his absence of breaching a lifetime ban from keeping animals and two further charges of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep and cattle on his land at Hainworth Farm.

But after he was jailed for the offences in June, the 47-year-old was granted bail by a judge pending his appeal against the conviction and prison sentence.

When his case was heard at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, Holmes failed to attend again and the matter was dealt with in his absence.

The court heard from vet Gaynor Vickerman who explained how she had visited Holmes's farm in January, last year, because he wanted to move some sheep along a public road during the foot and mouth crisis.

She told the court that she was appalled and sickened by the poor condition of some of the sheep and cattle and said that between 15 and 20 per cent of the animals were lame.

She said grass coverage on the muddy fields was very sparse and Holmes told her he was feeding the livestock with turnips and pellet food.

Holmes's barrister, Robert Blantern, referred to an expert's report which indicated that the land suffered from a copper deficiency and suggested that one of the effects would be a loss of appetite among the livestock.

But Miss Vickerman emphasised that the animals had not lost their appetites and were all competing for food.

In November, 1999, Holmes was made the subject of a lifetime ban from keeping animals after previous cruelty offences and Recorder Rodney Jameson QC said there was no conceivable ground for contesting his conviction on that matter.

He said Miss Vickerman's evidence in relation to the other two charges was compelling and he noted that animals had been "ravenous".

Recorder Jameson said the appeal against the prison sentence was also being dismissed after the court heard details of Holmes' s previous offending dating back to 1996.

Prosecutor Giles Bridge said it was believed that Holmes might be in France.