Fox sought refuge on Lorton Valley house roof during alleged hunt

Witnesses say they saw a “terrified” fox clambering on to a house roof as it attempted to escape from the dogs.

Gill James, 70, a retired research scientist who lives in the area, has provided a statement to the police. 

She told the News & Star that she was at home on November 9 when she heard and then saw men with a pack of around 20 foxhounds roaming across Whiteside Fell, at points straying on to National Trust land.

The dogs also ran across privately owned land – with two of them, at one point, going into her house, she said. “I saw the hounds on the National Trust land – and then they jumped over the wall and on to my neighbour’s land as well,” she said.

“I rang the National Trust warden and then the police.”

Gill described going with her neighbour on to the fell in the hope of getting photos or a video of what was happening.

She said: “I could see the hounds running over the front of Whiteside Fell and I got photographs. After a while of watching them, I heard a huntsman sounding his horn. The pack then descended from up the hill, and down mostly on to my neighbour’s land.

“Some came on to my land.

“So I came back down the fell after them. But I’d left my back door open.

“The hounds were all over the place – totally out of control. They were on my neighbour’s land, in the garden and when I got back home there were two of the hounds in the house. One was peeing on the door.”

The 'chaos' began at around 12.35pm, said Gill.

It was shortly after she returned home that her next-door neighbour telephoned her to say that he had seen a fox on his house roof. She urged him to leave it, fearing the hounds would kill it if it left the sanctuary of the roof.

The fox was there for at least half an hour, she said. Gill believes she knows which hunt group was involved and branded their behaviour “a disgrace.” She said the men she saw denied they were hunting.

“The fox on the roof looked terrified,” she said.

A National Trust spokesman said: “As a conservation charity, our staff work hard to protect the land in our care and we take any validated reports of trespass very seriously and we ask that any reports of trail hunting or trespass on our land are reported to the police and reported to our staff via email to trailhunting.management@nationaltrust.org.uk.

“In these incidents, we will always work in collaboration with the police.

“We do not allow illegal activity on our land.

“Staff welfare is our priority and we do not put them in a position to challenge illegal activities and would always refer such activities to the police.

"We are working closely with the police to monitor the frequency and impact of any suspected illegal activity, including acts of trespass, to help prevent this in the future.”

Hunting wild mammals with dogs was banned in England and Wales by the Hunting Act of 2004.

Cumbria Police issued the following statement: “Police are investigating following a report of a hunt taking place on land in the Lorton area on November 9.

“Anyone with information can report online at cumbria.police.uk/report-it, quoting incident 79 of November 9.”