... shall unlawfully and maliciously commit any damage, injury, or spoil being to an amount exceeding five pounds, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.'5 The first person to be charged under this act was in the case of R v Pembliton6 however the conviction was quashed as he did not intend to 'unlawfully and maliciously' cause the outcome. This was seen when Blackburn said 'I think it is impossible to say in this case that the prisoner has maliciously done an act which he did not intend to do.' 7 This made the courts interpret that 'maliciously' meant that intention needed to be proved but they were inclined that intention could be shown by proof of reckless disregard of a perceived risk. This approach was followed in R v Welch8 in which the courts decided that the defendant intended to kill, maim or wound a mare and he still carried on ...

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