Man fined after hunt fracas (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Man fined after hunt fracas

A MAN who drove his Landrover at a crowd of hunt supporters, grabbing a woman by the arm as he went, has been fined a total of £160 by magistrates at Cheltenham.

Matthew Cadle, aged 22, of Woodlands, Kitebrook, near Moreton-in-Marsh, pleaded guilty to assaulting Jo-Ann Ellison and using threatening words and behaviour.

Gavin Collett, prosecuting, told the court that about 120 hunt supporters had been unable to get into the Redesdale Hall in Moreton for a meeting at which Government Minister Michael Meacher was speaking in February last year.

"They gathered outside the hall in a perfectly peaceful and legal demonstration," he said. "Cadle and a friend came out of a nearby public house and got into his Landrover. "His friend, who was sporting a pink Mohican haircut, was very vocal.

"Cadle then drove towards the demonstration instead of taking one of another two routes to go to his home. "He was hooting his horn and drove purposely at the crowd. "People had to step briskly out of the way and as he went through Cadle reached out of the window and grabbed Miss Ellison's arm, pulling her along for one or two metres. "She eventually lost her balance and fell."

Stephan Simms, defending, told the court: "Cadle was well aware there was a demonstration but he did not want to reverse his Landrover because of the poor visibility out of the back. "He was sounding his horn to warn people he was approaching. "He concedes that he grabbed hold of Miss Ellison but she did not fall. "That happened when someone opened the door from the outside."

Mr Simms added: "Cadle has no views either way about hunting. His views on hunting people may be very different now. "The crowd apparently formed the opinion that he was anti-hunting. He was abused by the people in the crowd. "He was dragged from the car and he was assaulted. He was pushed to the ground and restrained until the police arrived. "This was a one-off incident and it happened on the spur of the moment."

The chairman of the magistrates, Guy Wareing, said: "This was a very nasty incident. It certainly had the potential to be a dangerous incident and it must have been a frightening incident."

Cadle was fined £100 for assaulting Miss Ellison and £60 for using threatening words and behaviour. He was also ordered to pay Miss Ellison compensation of £75 and to pay costs of £95.