The Master of the Ross Harriers Hunt, David Lee Peters, 33, from Coughton, racially abused and threatened a hunt protestor, Hiba Hassain, on January 7th this year.
Peters was found guilty, at Hereford Magistrates' court on Thursday (November 15th), of racial abuse for calling Hiba Hassain a "f****** w**", when hunt protestors gathered in Aston Crews, near Ross, during the meeting of the Ross Harriers Hunt. He was also found guilty of a separate offence of using threatening words towards another protestor.
In his summing up, Presiding District Judge Nigel Cadbury said this case was not about hunting per se and whether it was lawful or not. Rather, whether two alleged public order incidents had occurred.
He said witnesses for the case came from both sides of the divide – the pro hunting camp or the saboteurs camp. However, the evidence of the one "truly independent witness", Mr Muncey, proved pivotal. He was in his garden at the time of the incident, with a good view, and was shocked by what he heard.
Mr Muncey flagged down a police car and reported the matter. He was, said the Judge, credible, clear, accurate and reliable: the offending words were used and shouted out quite loudly.
For the rest of this story please see this week's Ross Gazette.
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