This Is Cheshire

Police called to country estate

From the archive, first published Friday 2nd Dec 2005.

POLICE were called to the grounds of Randle Brooks' estate on Saturday after an alleged skirmish.

Cheshire Police said hunt saboteurs called at 1.30pm claiming one of them had been assaulted.

The allegation was later dropped, but officers are still investigating a claim that a hunt supporter smashed a saboteur's video camera.

"We have taken a statement and to that end we will be investigating," said a spokesman.

The North West Hunt Saboteurs Association emailed the Knutsford Guardian about the alleged incident.

Spokesman Dawn Preston said they had attended Peover Hall to check members of the Cheshire Forest Hunt were not breaking the law.

She claimed the saboteur was filming the hunt when the supporter allegedly snatched the camera and broke it. "We believe this was a desperate attempt to try to prevent us from getting evidence," she said. More than 50 hounds are kept in kennels in Peover Park where Mr Brooks, who owns Rostherne and parts of Knutsford, lives when he is in Cheshire.

This week joint master Peter Heaton said the Cheshire Forest Hunt was not in the area where the incident allegedly took place.

"As far as we are aware it was not a hunt supporter who was involved," he said.

"We know there were some verbals between saboteurs and individuals, but whether it went any further than that I don't know."

Mr Heaton claimed the saboteurs were angry because the sport had not been banned altogether.

"I probably would be hopping mad as well if I were them," he said.

"I would think what a waste of 700 hours of parliamentary time when it took less than 100 hours for us to decide to go to war in Iraq."

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