Women forced to pay compensation after spitting at member of Fitzwilliam Hunt near Peterborough on Boxing Day

A woman has been ordered to pay compensation after spitting at a member of the Fitzwilliam Hunt in Stilton on Boxing Day.

Teresa Underwood was at the event, along with a number of other members of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, to protest against the hunt.

Following the incident, Underwood (46) of Church Street, Kettering was arrested in High Street, Stilton and charged with assault by beating.

She admitted the charge at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday January 25 and was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £25 compensation to the victim, as well as £145 in court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

The victim, who has been called Ms Hall by the Countryside Alliance has come forward to say: “Being spat on felt incredibly degrading, but my main concern was for the welfare of the young children who didn't understand who this woman was and why she was screaming at them so aggressively.

“Thankfully the police did step in and handled the appalling incident quickly enough.

"I do worry about the increasingly violent actions of animal-rights activists towards other rural people.”