Hounds attacked me in my garden

Jan 16 2004 By David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

What upset Mr Walsh most was when he tried to stop followers of the hunt in Land Rovers and on quad bikes trying to access the A51 from Burton Lane even though it is signposted as a 'No Through Road' and with no entry signs at the bottom where it meets the main road.

He said: 'It's not blocked off but it's on a bad bend. In actual fact if you attempted to go out you can't see what is coming from your right.

'There are always accidents round this area,' he added. 'But these people in Land Rovers and cars following the hunt are absolutely crazy.

'They are driving like mad down a country lane. One of them shouted 'get out of the road!'. All I was trying to do was warn them for their own safety and prevent a hazardous situation.'

Burton Road resident Norman Davies was said to be upset because his ornamental pigs were frightened by hounds which went into Duddon Wood which he part owns.

Coincidentally hounds from the other Cheshire hunt, the Cheshire Forest Hunt, were alleged by locals to have been out of control on the adjoining A54 just three miles away near Kelsall, although this has been denied by hunt officials.

PC Martin Walsh of Cheshire police left a message with Mr Owen suggesting police would not be taking further action against the Cheshire Hunt.

He told him : 'I have spoken to the hunt master Randle Cooke and he sends his apologies and I've also spoken to the kennel master Guy Mather, as you informed me.

He's particularly sorry for what happened and apologises. He did ask could he could have the personal details of the person who had been bitten but I refused at this present time.

'We have put an entry on the dog bite register at Chester police station in relation to the whole pack of hounds for Cheshire Hunt and at the moment I think that's about as much as we can do. Mr Mather was extremely apologetic for what went on.'

Cheshire police's dog bite register is a computerised record used for internal purposes when either there has been no complainant or insufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution. It can be used for evidence purposes should there be any other reported incidents.

Cheshire Hunt spokeswoman Ellie Boddington was suspicious about whether Mr Owen had actually had his hand bitten.

'It's extremely rare for a hound to bite anybody,' she said, but added: 'The huntsman apologises for any inconvenience caused by the hounds being in the gardens, if that's the case.'

In relation to the complaints about hunt followers in vehicles, she added: 'If people have not been behaving in a correct manner we need to know about it.'