FIVE men - two from Alton and three from Bordon - have been found guilty of hare coursing on an estate in Cambridgeshire. Caught hare coursing illegally near the village of March, the local men have been banned from driving for three months, had two vehicles confiscated, and told their dogs must be forfeited. Following a court case, conducted by Fenland Magistrates at Peterborough last week, the culprits were each fined £350 with £35 costs after being found trespassing with dogs on Coldham Estate land at Graysmoor Drove in Fenland country. Magistrates chairman Peter Waterfield told them: "Residents of Fenland do not appreciate visits from groups such as yourselves, who travel long distances to use our wide open spaces for illegal activities. "We know that it is not necessarily the capture of game that is paramount but the betting that takes place to see whose dog is the quickest, but nevertheless, hunting with dogs is unacceptable and is shortly to become illegal." (from midnight February 17). The five men were Leslie Smith, 50, of Alton; John Smith, 29, of Bordon; Glenn Keet, 40, of Bordon, Simon Slone, 31, of Alton, and Stephen Wells, 46, of Bordon. They admitted daytime trespass in pursuit of game on October 17 last year. Stephen Hill, prosecuting, said police received reports of hare coursing just after 9 am, and went to Graysmoor Drove where they found Leslie Smith with a child and a lurcher dog, walking along the road. The other four defendants and some dogs were on farmland belonging to Coldham Estate, but left the field when they saw police. Two vehicles were found nearby, a K- registered red Subaru estate and an N- registered white Astra van. The men had no legal representation in court, and apologised for committing the offence. They all said that a driving ban would affect their livelihood. Leslie Smith said he no longer owned a dog, and the others said they had made efforts to rehome their dogs.
