Three charged over suspected fox hunt

Three men have been charged following an investigation into a hunt, police say.

Ross Cordery, 45, from Highbridge, Wayne Greggory, 48, of Taunton, and James Parish, 31, from Uffculme in Devon, have been charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs under the Hunting Act 2004.

They will appear at Taunton Magistrates' Court on 20 April.

The charges follow an investigation by Avon and Somerset Police into a planned event by The Vale of Taunton and Banwell Harriers Hunt in Chilton Trinity on 26 November.

Trail hunting - a practice where a scent is laid out for the hunt to follow rather than a real animal - was introduced as a replacement for fox hunting, which was banned by Labour in 2004.

The government recently launched a national consultation on its manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting.

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