Judge dismisses appeal of violent hunt saboteur

A violent criminal described as the ‘face of UK hunt saboteurs’ has had an appeal to overturn a previous conviction dismissed.

Following a three-day appearance at Chester Crown Court last week (8-10 May), Paul Allman, 49, failed to have a previous guilty verdict for the physical assault of two members of the Wynnstay Hunt in Cheshire in November 2021 overturned.

In the original trial, the court heard that Allman had been part of a “militia” dressed in black who confronted members of the hunt in Cuddington, Cheshire, before he struck two supporters, knocking one to the floor.

When he appeared in the dock last year, he already had a suspended sentence hanging over him for his involvement in a separate attack on a 15-year-old girl and two men, aged 61 and 52, as they watched the Cottesmore Hunt in Oakham, Leicestershire.

Sentencing him to 20 weeks in custody, district judge John McGarva branded Allman a “danger to the public” who “had a history of violent offending”.

Allman is part of a group that routinely target hunts known as the 'Stockport Monitors', and has history with previous convictions, including one in March 2019 for assaulting the master of the Cheshire Hunt, for which he was fined £200.

A spokesperson for the Countryside Alliance said: “It is right that this conviction has been upheld. Within the small murky underworld of hunt saboteurs, Allman is considered one of its most notorious henchmen. His actions are, however, representative of hunt saboteurs across the country who demonstrate this type of appalling behaviour regularly.

“In the interest of protecting the public, it is vital police forces across the country take the threat and danger hunt saboteurs pose incredibly seriously and respond to complaints about their activity promptly and robustly.”