A Petts Wood man, who bought illegally poached chimpanzee skulls, animal claws and shark teeth online, has been spared jail.

Peter Prineas, of Poverest Road, was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 18 months at Croydon Crown Court yesterday.

Police seized monkey skulls, cheetah and leopard skins, a lion claw, whale teeth and other specimens after searching the 52-year-old’s home in February this year.

Met Police wildlife crime officers began investigating after they found a cheetah skin advertised on an online auction site from a seller in Wales.

Prineas purchased the skin and police executed a search warrant on his home to find the hoard of items protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Officers discovered the animal parts in an upstairs study apart from a young chimpanzee’s skull which remained in his garage as it still stank from having been recently killed and prepared.

Prineas had also contacted an unknown seller online to ask for a male gorilla skull for his collection.

He pleaded guilty to six custom and excise breaches, two counts related to the trade of protected species and one charge of acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Sarah Bailey said: "People like Prineas tragically increase the pressure on these endangered species, putting a price on their heads.”

She said the Met Police's Wildlife Crime Unit would use the recovered items to educate people on the law and severe threat illegal trading of the specimens poses to endangered wildlife.

World Animal Protection campaign manager Alyx Elliott welcomed the prosecution and encouraged Londoners to report crimes involving endangered species to police.

She said “The items seized illustrate the cruelty involved in this type of crime and the lengths that criminals will go to in order to exploit animals simply for financial gain."

Anyone with suspicions regarding wildlife crime in London should report it to police by calling 101.