Hunt master in indecent proposal to fox protester
A HUNT master is being investigated by police after telling a married mother who confronted him: ‘Can I take you to bed?
Charles Carter was approached by housewife Linda Hoggard while he was out with the Middleton Hunt in Yorkshire.
Challenged about hounds allegedly illegally chasing a fox, he told the mother of four she was ‘very pretty’, adding: ‘I’d quite like to shag you.’
Mr Carter, who is also a Tory councillor, has been suspended from the Conservative group at the town hall where he is a member while police said they were investigating reports of an ‘altercation’.
Mr Carter, 33, failed to respond to requests for a comment yesterday.
The huntsman was astride his horse during the alleged exchange with Mrs Hoggard, who recorded the incident on her phone. She described his behaviour as ‘disgusting’, adding: ‘I thought I would go and see what his reaction would be. When he said that rude word I was taken aback. For him to say it again was out of order. No one should speak to you like that.’
The 41-year-old, from Malton, Yorkshire, said she was not a hunt saboteur, just ‘a housewife with four children and I care about animals’. She was taking photos of buzzards at the time.
She said: ‘I didn’t know he was a councillor. He should know better.’
Mr Carter was wearing a traditional red hunting jacket and helmet when Mrs Hoggard confronted him on Monday in Duggleby, 20 miles from York.
She began by saying: ‘Excuse me, did you know hunting was banned?’ She told him she had seen a video of a fox being chased by hounds in the area.
Mr Carter took out his own mobile phone, prompting her to say: ‘You want to take a picture of me?’
He then asked for her name and when she told him ‘it doesn’t matter what my name is’, he responded: ‘I’d quite like to shag you actually.’ Stunned by the comment, Mrs Hoggard said: ‘I’ll tell my husband that then, shall I?’
But the huntsman, who according to Facebook has a girlfriend, 28-year-old international event rider Harriet Morris-Baumber, continued: ‘Can I take you to bed?’
He told the mother she was ‘very pretty’, leading her to retort: ‘So are foxes before this lot rip them apart.’ Mr Carter also asked for Mrs Hoggard’s phone number before leaving without addressing her allegations about illegal hunting activity.
The huntsman is a former cabinet member of Breckland Council in Norfolk and has represented the Saham Toney area since he was elected in 2011.
According to his Facebook page, he now lives 150 miles away in Birdsall, North Yorkshire.
William Nunn, leader of Tory-run Breckland Council, suspended Mr Carter yesterday for his ‘inappropriate and offensive comments to a protester’. He said: ‘I was appalled by the conduct of one of my Conservative councillors, who has clearly brought the party and the council into disrepute.
‘The individual concerned has been suspended from the Conservative Group at Breckland Council pending a full investigation.’
Miss Morris-Baumber, who has represented Great Britain, declined to comment.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman yesterday said investigations were ‘ongoing’ into reports of an ‘altercation’.