Boar hunting death: Friends of Marc Sutton want action

Marc Sutton owned a restaurant in the small town of Les Gets

The friends of a man who was killed by a French hunter who mistook him for wild boar want other Brits to be warned of the dangers.

Marc Sutton, 34, was shot while mountain-biking through the forest at Montriod in Haute-Savoie, in 2018.

He was originally from Caerphilly in south Wales and owned a restaurant in ski resort Les Gets.

On Friday Lucas Clerc was sentenced to four years for manslaughter, reported broadcaster France 3.

The 24-year-old was also banned from hunting and owning a weapon.

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Campaign group Union des Victimes de la Chasse [Union of Hunting Victims], founded by Mr Sutton's friends, wants the Foreign Office to warn British travellers about the dangers of hunters in the woods of France.

The Foreign Office has been asked to comment.

It also wants the French government to make every member of a hunting party jointly responsible for any accidents, which it says would encourage them to police the behaviour of each other, and for drinking and hunting to be made a criminal offence.

Campaigner Katie Downs, a former BBC journalist, who lives in Morzine, said: "British people, even if they live in France, are not always completely aware of the dangers posed by hunters during the season - coming from the UK where hunting poses no risk at all, it is difficult to grasp how dangerous it is here in France."

It follows reports another British expat died on Wednesday near the village of Calvignac, Lot, after being shot by wild boar hunters.

Campaigner Steve Downs added: "It is devastating to hear that another innocent person has been killed by the chasse and our thoughts are with his family and friends.

"We have been calling for reform of safety rules since Marc's death, yet nothing has been done... Nothing can bring Marc back and all we can do now is try to keep others safe and stop this happening again, in his memory.

"We are not trying to stop hunting, we're trying to stop deaths."