Location: Easingwold, Yorkshire
Affiliation: York Anti-Hunt League
Paul Hildreth is a prominent figure in anti-hunt organisations and known associate of prolific saboteur Tracy Williamson. Hildreth is known for regularly making Freedom of Information requests about hunts, however his own less-than-squeaky-clean past betrays a laughable irony and again raises questions over why so many sabs have criminal backgrounds.
Fraud Conviction
In June 2009, Hildreth and his business partner Craig Buttery were arrested for misappropriating funds from the National Lottery Awards for All and Tees Valley Community Trust to set up a new sport called Rock-it-Ball.
Investigators found emails that showed funds allocated for equipment, coaching, and venue hire being used for personal expenses, including flights to the USA and car hire.
When the case reached Leeds Crown Court in 2013, the prosecution, led by Andrew Semple, argued that Hildreth and his associate, Craig Buttery, falsely invoiced expenses. Initially denying their dishonesty, both men eventually admitted to submitting "fraudulent invoices as a result of incompetence and chaos rather than anything else."
Hildreth, aged 73, residing in Grey Garth, Newton-on-Ouse, York, and Buttery, 75, of Ryedale Crescent, Kirkbymoorside, each pleaded guilty to two charges of false accounting, with other offenses taken into consideration. Both were given 12-month community orders with 200 hours unpaid work and each was ordered to repay £12,092 compensation to the Lottery and £3,094 to Tees Valley Community Trust.
Hildreth’s conviction for fraud throws the saboteur movement into yet further disrepute and begs questions over the legitimacy of its funding models.