Lake District pensioners left distraught after a fox hunt rampages through their garden

An 88-year-old pensioner and her 86-year-old husband were left distraught after a pack of fox hounds rampaged through local fields, their communal grounds and private garden in the Lake District National Park.

Toni Gibson, who lives on Holbeck Lane in Troutbeck, Windemere in Cumbria with her husband John, videoed the hounds running around out-of-control for over an hour – scaring three horses in a nearby field who bolted off in fear, before the hounds tore through her garden.

She believes that they were going after the scent of a live fox and displaying behaviour entirely inconsistent with trail hunting – the increasingly discredited excuse used by fox hunts – as it would have been inconceivable for a trail to have been laid in her garden.

National animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports is calling for stronger fox hunting laws and the national park authority to take steps to rigorously enforce the trial hunting ban it introduced in 2022.

Toni said: “The whole incident left me really upset, very sad and I was in tears later when I thought about it more.

“I can’t wait for the Government to step in and stop fox hunting by doing what they promised in their manifesto and ban trail hunting.”

Chris Luffingham, acting chief executive at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “This is indicative of the reports we get from around the country of fox hunts running amok and wreaking havoc on rural communities – this time shamefully in the garden of pensioners trying to enjoy their retirement.

“It’s time for change. We are calling for the Government to announce a timetable for when they will ban trail hunting, remove the loopholes in the law being exploited by hunts and introduce custodial sentences for those caught breaking the law.”

Trail hunting has been described by Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, the most senior police officer in England with responsibility for fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He has also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

The Labour Party manifesto contained a commitment to ban trail hunting, and current environment secretary Steve Reed pledged to eliminate fox hunting within its first term.

Chris added: “It’s time for the police, courts and Crown Prosecution Service to be given the powers to effectively tackle fox hunting, a brutal and sordid activity, which needs to be consigned to the history books.”

The League’s acting chief executive Chris Luffingham has written to the Lake District National Park Authority expressing our concern about the incident.

The incident took place on Friday, December 6 and Toni reported it to the League’s Animal Crimewatch service. The public can phone 0300 444 1234 or email crimewatch@league.org.uk or WhatsApp at 0755 278 8247 to report similar incidents.