Man charged with assault and theft from hunt monitors

Shane Chapman, aged 33, of Bingham Road in Verwood, appeared before the court on Friday, February 16 charged with theft from another person and two counts of common assault.

The offences relate to two separate incidents on September 26 and October 3.

Dorset Police received a report on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, that a person had been assaulted and equipment stolen in the area of Load Lane, Hilfield, near Cerne Abbas.

Dorset Police received another report on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, that a person had been assaulted, another had equipment stolen and a further person was the victim of an attempted theft in the area of Great Head Lane, Dorchester.

READ MORE: Two men charged following 'assault and theft' at Dorset hunt

On September 26, at Knapp Farm on the junction between Load Lane and Hilfield Lane in Hilfield, Chapman is charged with stealing a Baofeng UV-5R radio, of a value of £25 and assaulting a man.

On the second incident on October 3, at Great Head Lane in Batcombe, Chapman is charged with stealing an X90 Panasonic handheld camcorder, to the value of £290.

His co-defendant Christopher Mills, aged 34 and of Hardy Crescent, Wimborne, is also charged with common assault and attempt of theft from the person of another on October 3.

He is charged with assaulting a man and attempting to steal a body-worn GoPro camera.

Mills could not attend the hearing.

No pleas were entered and the case was adjourned until Thursday, April 11 at 2pm.

Chapman was remanded on conditional bail until the next hearing at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court.

The conditions were not to contact any of the victims involved in the offences, not to enter Crewkerne in Somerset, not to attend any location where a hunt is taking place in the UK and not to attend, loiter or be near any hunt or hunt-related activity.