An 82-year-old aristocrat who was struck over the head by a ‘bully’ hunt saboteur has said he is ‘delighted’ after she was found guilty of assault and fined almost £1,000.
Wealthy landowner Richard de Pelet was left disorientated and bleeding from an open wound after being hit with a video camera by Alexandra Dennis during a meet in the north Dorset countryside on December 18, 2021.
In a video of the attack, revealed exclusively by MailOnline, Dennis has to be restrained from going for Mr de Pelet again as she is heard hurling abuse at the visibly shaken pensioner, who tells her ‘you hit me’ in disbelief.
Dennis was found guilty of assault by beating following a trial at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court and was fined £959 – £100 of which will go to Mr de Pelet as compensation.
Wealthy landowner Richard de Pelet (pictured) was left disorientated and bleeding from an open wound after being hit with a video camera by Alexandra Dennis during a meet in the north Dorset countryside on December 18, 2021.
Video shows the moment a hunt saboteur who was found guilty of assault by beating attacked 82-year-old Richard de Pelet
Mr de Pelet was left nursing a sore head for days after the attack, the court heard.
He was once chairman of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hunt for more than 40 years and was known for his annual farmer’ drinks party, which welcomed up to 450 people into he and his wife Isabel’s huge Inwood House estate.
The incident almost exactly a year ago was said to be one of multiple clashes between members of the hunt – which Mr de Pelet had been supporting on foot – and saboteurs.
Both groups had shouted and manhandled each other in the woods at Holnest, near Sturminster Newton.
Magistrates heard that Mr de Pelet came onto the scene after hearing shouting in the woods.
During the fracas between the groups a body camera belonging to one of the saboteurs was knocked to the ground.
The pensioner – smartly dressed in beige corduroy trousers and tweed jacket – was seen on film asking ‘whose is this’ after picking the recording device.
Dennis is then seen in the footage spinning around and running at Mr de Pelet.
Olivia McGonigle, prosecuting, told Weymouth Magistrates’ Court: ‘The footage clearly shows her snatching the camera and rather than moving away she hits him on the back of the head causing him to fall to the floor.
‘He is an elderly gentleman, there was no case for self defence once the camera was taken away from him.’
Dennis, from Sturminster Newton, denied a charge of assault on the grounds she had acted in self defence.
Mr McGonigle said the defendant was not scared by Mr de Pelet but had lashed out in anger.
She said: ‘All of the huntsmen were behind the gate, nobody other than Mr de Pelet was in the area at the time.
‘The question is whether the force was reasonable or necessary and it is the Crown’s case that Mr de Pelet was not a threat to anyone.
‘He was not trying to steal the evidence on the camera, he was just asking to see who the camera belonged to.
‘You can hear him in the video footage saying ”Whose is this, is this yours?”
Alexandra Dennis lunged at the elderly pensioner as he attempted to retrieve something from the ground just behind her and then struck him in the head with a video camera
‘Miss Dennis was angry and that can be seen when she is kept away from the defendant on the ground.’
Kenneth Sharpe, defending, claimed his client and other female saboteurs had been manhandled that day.
He said: ‘The way that Miss Dennis must have felt to have had men riding horses with whips looming over her earlier that day must have had a real impact on her.
‘Miss Dennis didn’t even have a second to react when she turned and saw Mr de Pelet grappling with her friend.
‘She reacted instinctively and in that moment she did not have the time to consider how much force she used.
‘I do not believe it is an unreasonable reaction, Miss Dennis genuinely believed her friend was in danger and acted accordingly.’
Giving evidence, Dennis told the court that she believed it was all ‘about to kick off again’ when she saw her friend trying to get hold of the camera.
She said: ‘I thought the next moment he was going to hit her with it.
‘I thought all the rest of the hunt would run in and they would attack us again.
‘It all happened in a split second, I didn’t realise I had the camera in my hand.’
In finding her guilty, presiding magistrate Justice Dominic Britton told Dennis the aggression shown after snatching the camera was out of proportion.
He said: ‘Having viewed the video evidence and heard the oral evidence we believe snatching the camera was a reasonable use of force considering what had already happened that day.
‘However, she then went on to strike Mr de Pelet which was completely out of proportion and unnecessary. We therefore find you guilty of battery.’
Afterwards, Mr de Pelet said he was delighted with the result.
He said: ‘The gash on the back of my head hurt for a very long time.
‘Farmers agree to let us use their land and then these people come and harass us without permission. They never leave when they are told to.’
His family said that it was completely unacceptable to strike an elderly gentleman and that it was the best result they could have hoped for.
Polly Portwin, a spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance, said: ‘While small in numbers, hunt saboteurs are routinely aggressive and often violent towards many within the rural community.
‘It cannot be right that these bullies are able to carry out their campaigns of terrorising law abiding rural people.
Video footage, provided exclusively to MailOnline, shows how Dennis attacked the elderly victim as shocked members of the public tried to move her away from him
‘We urge police across the countryside to take their activity incredibly seriously, both for the safety of the hunting community but also the wider public.’
A spokesperson for the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, speaking on behalf of the shaken victim, told MailOnline yesterday that the organisation is ‘relieved that justice had been done’.
‘This shocking incident highlights the horrific abuse members of our community suffer at the hands of hunt saboteurs,’ the spokesperson said.
‘While he has recovered physically, the elderly victim understandably remains emotionally scarred by the violent actions of Alexandra Dennis.’
The spokesperson explained that for many – particularly elderly people living in rural areas – trail hunting remains an ‘important social activity.’
‘[Trail hunting] can be one of limited avenues of interaction in more isolated areas of the countryside,’ the representative stated.
‘Sadly, there are a small number of people who don’t understand this and go out of their way to intimidate and attack innocent people. We would like to thank the police and the CPS for their professionalism in helping to bring Dennis to justice’.
Trail hunting was devised in the wake of the 2004 Hunting Act to legally replicate the outlawed sport of fox hunting as closely as possible.
Under the rules, horseback riders with dogs can legally follow trails laid with scent, instead of chasing a live animal.
However, if hounds should happen to pick up the scent of a fox and chase it as a result of the trail, then there are no legal consequences.
The League Against Cruel Sports claims trail hunting is a cover for illegal hunting, designed to deceive the authorities and make the prosecution of illegal hunters very difficult.
The 2004 Hunting Act banned hunting foxes with hounds, but there have been reports of breaches since.
Trail hunting is controversial and although animals aren’t actually being chased, injured or killed many animal rights activists publicly oppose the practice.
The Countryside Alliance, a rural campaigning organisation, argues Sunday’s attack further highlights how important it is that police take threats made by hunt saboteur groups ‘seriously.’
The man fell to the ground as Dennis was heard shouting abuse at him as the man, who disorientated and visibly shaken, says ‘you hit me’
Polly Portwin, who runs the organisation’s Campaign for Hunting, said: ‘While small in numbers, hunt saboteurs are routinely aggressive and often violent towards many within the rural community.
‘Hunt staff, who above all else work incredibly hard to maintain and protect the welfare of the animals in their care, regularly face spurious and false accusations from saboteur groups, as was reported in Wiltshire at the weekend.
‘It cannot be right that these bullies are able to carry out their campaigns of terrorising law abiding rural people.
She concluded: ‘We urge police across the countryside to take their activity incredibly seriously, both for the safety of the hunting community but also the wider public.’
Dennis was found guilty of assault by beating after a trial at Weymouth Magistrates Court and fined £959. The victim says he remains ’emotionally scarred’ by her ‘violent actions’
The Countryside Alliance, a rural campaigning organisation, argues Sunday’s attack further highlights how important it is that police take threats made by hunt saboteur groups ‘seriously’
Ms Portwin noted how two weeks ago police advised another hunt to move its activities following a ‘hate campaign against local clergy by hunt saboteurs.’
The hunt saboteurs had posted details of the group’s carol service at St George’s Church in Clun. They also shared the email address of Reverend Caroline Harrison and asked activists to get in touch and complain.
The hunt received messages from animal rights groups and activists across the globe, including in Canada and New Zealand.
Despite the threats, the service still went ahead last weekend, Ms Portwin explained.
A spokesperson for the United Pack has since criticised the activists, saying :’We were in no doubt that our carol service would go ahead this year.
‘It’s an important part of the festive calendar for many local people here, regardless of whether they follow hunting or not. We would never bow down to threats from online bullies but do understand just how unpleasant it can be for anyone targeted.’
The United Pack says last weekend’s event was ‘without doubt the best supported service’ the group has ‘ever had.’
Officials say attendance was ‘higher than usual’ and the group had more newcomers than in previous years – ‘which just reinforces the strength of rural, community spirit and this important time of year.’
The spokesperson added: ‘The sermon was wonderfully crafted and the 100 or so people in the congregation all agreed that the rural community in the Welsh Marches was far better off for a joyous and hearty service’.
