PC describes 'eye watering' body in barrel find

A police officer has described the "eye-watering" moment he discovered the remains of a missing man inside a concrete-filled barrel hidden in a livestock trailer.

PC Christopher Sheard was part of the team which found the body of Richard Dyson, 55, on farmland near Barnsley in July 2025, six years after he had been reported missing.

Prosecutors allege Dyson had been shot and killed by 73-year-old Christopher Wright in retaliation for stealing one of his guns, before being dismembered and stuffed in the barrel.

Wright, of Hoyland, denies murder, preventing lawful burial and several firearms offences, while co-defendant Karl Schwalbe, 72, denies a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Wright has also pleaded not guilty to preventing lawful burial and several firearms offences linked to a "stash" of illegal weapons found on his tenanted farm.

Giving evidence at Sheffield Crown Court, Sheard said the barrel had been found inside a padlocked trailer at Alderthwaite Farm.

He described lifting a foam mat from the top of the barrel and said the stench of decomposition "hit him" and he "had to take a step back".

"I can't describe the smell," he told the court.

Flies flew out and he detected "a strong ammonia smell".

"My eyes began to water and I had to gasp for breath when [the smell] hit me," he said.

Det Con Tom Ryan, who was also present, said he was then shown the human bones which were "protruding out of the top" of the concrete.

Prosecutors allege Wright killed Dyson, who carried out odd jobs on Wright's farm, after he had stolen a machine gun from Wright before concealing his body in a barrel in 2019.

Wright is then said to have asked Ian Ollerenshaw, who lived on the neighbouring Alderthwaite Farm, if he could store a trailer containing the barrel on his land and it remained there until it was discovered.

Wright was charged with murder in November 2025, and Schwalbe, of Low Harley, was charged with perverting the course of justice in February, over his alleged role in hiding Dyson's remains.

The trial, which is set to last eight weeks, continues.

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