Roberts could be seen entering the barn four times over the three-week period. Not once did he ask the groom to unchain Anne. He claimed he had been too ill to properly supervise the staff and admitted that given better supervision the actions of the groom may have been "caught." The judge said: "At the time this footage was obtained Bobby Roberts had been diagnosed with and was being treated for a serious personal medical condition. This affected his mobility, his general health and the extent to which he could supervise the grooms. Although he was paying visits to the barn, as shown on the footage, it was nowhere near as regular as was customary and even though he witnessed Anne in chains at times when she should not have been, for reasons which he cannot explain, he did nothing about it. With the benefit of hindsight he fairly says that he should have invited a family member, principally his daughter, to undertake the supervision of the grooms. He accepts that he did not. Staff who had worked for Roberts had described him as a caring and loving owner and that he had trained and supervised them correctly. Derfel Williams, a former ringmaster with the circus, told the court he never saw Roberts or any other staff hit the animals. He told the court: "Mr Roberts had relationships with his animals like people have with their families. The animals were treated better than the humans. It was animals first at all times. But prosecuting Helen Law said: "Everything has changed in this circus since these witnesses worked there." Today the judge said he found Roberts to be an "engaging man" whose love for his animals (and his family) was apparent from the beginning. Judge Chinnery said: "His distress at seeing the video footage of the groom striking Anne was both genuine and very moving. He has devoted his whole life to the circus, performing from the age of four and clearly has many talents. But he said he had to take into account that Roberts could have supervised the grooms better.