Chester Crown Court has denied the appeal of renowned hunt saboteur and leader of the Stockport Monitors Paul Allman, upholding the sentence of 20 weeks imprisonment delivered by Judge John McGarva in August 2023. .
Allman, widely seen as the “face of UK hunt saboteurs” appeared before the crown court for three days this week, appealing a guilty verdict for the physical assault of two members of the Wynnstay Hunt in Cheshire in November 2021.
The victims, Hugh Hutchinson-Smith and James Thompson were attempting to open a gate from inside a field off the B5069, near Malpas, when two Land Rover Discovery cars arrived at serious pace. A group of sabs, headed up by Allman, then jumped out of the vehicles, dressed in their notorious black jackets, masks, and balaclavas.
The sabs blocked Hutchinson-Smith, who was mounted on a horse, and Thompson, who was temporarily on-foot, from opening the gate. While Hutchinson-Smith and Allman were filming each other, tensions rose. One sab hurled stones at Huthinson Smith's horse, whie the others verbally abused the two huntsmen.
Leaning over his side of the gate, Paul Allman then swiped Hutchinson’s phone out of his hand. He then pushed Thompson to the floor, breaking his jaw, which required him to have surgery.
When Allman was initially found guilty by Chester Magistrates Court in August 2023, Judge John McGarva described him as a “danger to the public”. At the time he also had a suspended sentence hanging over him for a separate attack against two men and a 15-year-old girl at the Cottesmore Hunt in January 2022.
Allman filed an appeal soon after, claiming that he was assaulted by Hutchinson-Smith. He said that the huntsman had headbutted him three to four times with the peak of his riding helmet. Allman claimed that his only intention was to prevent the illegal killing of foxes and that he did not set out to intimidate or threaten huntsmen.
Fortunately justice prevailed and Allman’s conviction was upheld. While his sentence only lasts until September, he is also the proud owner of a Criminal Behaviour Order, which prevents him from attending trail hunts in Cheshire and North Wales for the next five years.