UPDATE: Man Charged With Threatening Behaviour In Lewes As Hunt Supporters And Protestors Watch Boxing Day Parade

Police have charged a 53 year old man from Burgess Hill with threatening behaviour in connection with Lewes's Boxing Day hunt parade.

The event, involving the Southdown and Eridge Hunt, brought supporters, anti-hunting protestors and spectators totalling an estimated 2,000 people — but also saw minor scuffles in the crowds.

Police arrested seven people during the event.

Five people, two women aged 24 and 26, and three men aged 35, 38 and 52, were all later released without further action.

A 49 year old man was given a community resolution.

But police named Cainin Woodhead of The Saffrons in Burgess Hill as having been charged with using threatening behaviour with intent to cause fear, or provoke unlawful violence.

He is due to appear before Brighton magistrates on 1st February 2024.

The Boxing Day procession of horses and hounds along Lewes High Street followed several years of increasingly vocal protests, with a group of approximately 60 people loudly opposing the hunt, several carrying banners.

For approximately ten minutes, a small group of protestors also occupied the road in the path of the hunt's riders, preventing the parade moving on.

In addition to those chanting, some protestors were seen engaging other members of the public in quieter conversations to exchange viewpoints and information.

Some minor altercations occurred outside Lewes Crown Court, the centrepiece of the morning's parade, as police were seen to be trying to clear the road to allow horses and hounds, led by a car, to pass.

Hunt riders and dogs passed to loud applause and cheering from many onlookers in addition to strident chanting of anti-hunt slogans.

• Anti-hunting protestors gather early
• Anti-hunting protestors gather early
• Anti-hunting protestors gather early
• Anti-hunting protestors gather early
• Observers and hunt supporters
• Some hunt supporters were ready to engage
• No closure of Lewes High Street: vehicles were still allowed
• Some of the crowd of observers
• Supporters and protestors debate in the street
• Supporters, protestors and police debate in the street
• Supporters, protestors and police debate in the street
• Riders arrive, and are temporarily blocked by protestors
• Supporters, protestors and police debate in the street
• Crowds watch the riders and hounds arrive, led by a car
• Rders arrive, and are temporarily blocked by protestors
• Riders arrive, and are temporarily blocked by protestors
• Police attempt crowd control
• Police attempt crowd control
• The riders and hounds move on
• The riders and hounds move on
• The riders and hounds move on
• Debate continues

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Foxhunting was banned by the passage of the Hunting Act 2004.

Based in Ringmer, the Southdown and Eridge Hunt states it operates within the law, with hounds and riders hunting pre-laid artificial trails or lines, allowing followers to watch the hounds working.

An earlier controversy involved proposals for a formal road closure of Lewes High Street. 

Southdown and Eridge Hunt had applied for a closure to run between 10:45 and 11:45, the usual time of its Boxing Day parade, but Lewes District Council declined the application.

However, according to the law in England and Wales, horse riders are considered as normal road traffic, and dogs in a pack of hunting hounds are not required to wear a collar, under the Control of Dogs Order 1992.

Meanwhile, the group Action Against Foxhunting successfully obtained a closure of the same street from 11:00 to 12:00, to hold a proposed sponsored wheelbarrow race as a fundraiser for foodbanks in Lewes at the time the hunt would normally parade.

However, organisers of regular high-profile collections for the Lewes Food Banks stated the organisation of the race was not connected to the events the group holds, describing foodbank supporters as a "community coalition seeking to reach into every part of Lewes civil society".

On Christmas Eve, reporting threats from what the anti-hunting group claimed were hunt supporters, the wheelbarrow racers cancelled their event, saying they had reported the threats to Sussex Police.

Additionally, the hunt members rescheduled their procession to 10:00, when the road had no closure order applied.