A SOMERSET man accused of taking part in an illegal fox hunt is set to appear on trial at Taunton Magistrates Court.

Peter Mark Doggrell, of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, will appear in court on Tuesday (January 21) in a case expected to last two days.

The case follows an investigation by Avon and Somerset Police based on evidence obtained by Hounds Off and Somerset Wildlife Crime.

Doggrell faces a charge of hunting a wild mammal with a dog contrary to Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004.

The alleged offence is said to have been committed on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in a churchyard in Charleton Horethorne in Somerset.

Martin Sims, director of investigations at the League Against Cruel Sports and former head of the police’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “We’d like to thank Avon and Somerset Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing this case to court under the Hunting Act, and we will now await the outcome of the trial.”

The case comes nearly 15 years after hunting with dogs was banned in England and Wales with the introduction of the Hunting Act 2004, which came into force on February 18, 2005.