Quorn Hunt members cleared of breaching fox-hunting ban

John Finnegan (left) and Rhys Matcham had claimed they were taking part in a legitimate drag hunt

Two hunt members who were accused of encouraging hounds to look for a fox have been cleared of a hunting offence.

Huntsman John Finnegan and whipper-in Rhys Matcham from the Quorn Hunt were on trial for breaching the 2004 Hunting Act in Leicestershire last year.

The pair claimed the hunt on 4 February was legitimate with a pre-laid scent.

Part way through their trial, prosecutors dropped the case as they said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Mr Finnegan, 36, who lives at the Quorn Hunt premises near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and Mr Matcham, 30, of Kennel Drive, Badminton, South Gloucestershire had been charged with illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs.

Leicester Magistrates' Court heard the men were filmed by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) near Breedon-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire.

Prosecutors claimed the footage showed "a proper fox hunt going back to the olden days".

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But their first witness, Roger Swaine from the LACS, told the court on Tuesday he could not see where Mr Matcham was looking when a fox was seen to emerge from a covert.

During cross-examination defence lawyer Stephen Welford asked: "It's perfectly reasonable to suggest that hounds were in that bit of covert, they had found an artificial trail... and a fox popped out. That is one possibility, is it not?"

Mr Swaine answered: "Yes."

He said he had not seen the fox himself on the day but spotted it later when reviewing the footage.

Two other witnesses from the LACS also said they had not seen a fox that day.

'No prospect of success'

Explaining the decision to drop the case, prosecutor Mark Fielding said: "The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have a duty to review the prospects of success of a matter at all times, up to and including the end of the case.

"Suffice to say, having listened to Mr Swain giving clearly honest and truthful evidence in cross-examination, for which he is to be commended, my impression, was that this case no longer had a reasonable prospect of success.

"Bearing in mind what the Crown are asking the court to do is interpret actions of the hunt as we saw on the film, the concessions made by Mr Swaine... reduced the prospects of success."

Following this, the chairman of the magistrates' bench entered not guilty verdicts for both defendants.

Martin Sims, director of investigations at the LACS, said they were disappointed with the result and would be asking Leicestershire Police and the CPS to "explain the handling of this case".

The Countryside Alliance said the defence team "were always of the opinion that this was a very weak case".

Their statement added: "Ultimately, it resulted in a huge amount of valuable police resources and court time being wasted.

"We need to consider the impact on the defendants who have constantly maintained their innocence and have had to live with this allegation hanging over them for over 18 months."