Three men accused of hare coursing on field near Blackpool ‘ran frantically’ when police arrived, court hears

A member of the public called 999 after spotting the men with three lurcher-type dogs on a field in Westby in November 2022.

The three men “ran frantically” as if they were attempting to evade police, PC Mark Mason told Blackpool Magistrates on Wednesday (September 13).

PC Mason added that he and his colleagues had to climb over gates and fences in an attempt to catch the trio.

The accused are:

- Andrew Boswell, 38, of Denton Street, Carlisle

- Shane Boswell, 40, of Whalley Lane, Blackpool

- Tommy Boswell, 45, of Midgeland Road, Blackpool

Prosecutor Peter Bardsley said the incident occurred near the former fracking site at Preston New Road.

He added all three men had dogs and Tommy Boswell had a knife.

The trio all denied trespassing with the intent to go hare coursing and going equipped for hare coursing.

Sgt Richard McKenna said police had not seen any hares or hare corpses at the scene, and could not say whether the dogs were on leads or not.

Defence lawyer Ian Whiteley said the trio were just out for a walk.

Proceeding.

What is hare coursing?

Hare coursing sets two running dogs onto a brown hare.

The dogs compete and are judged by how closely they can follow the twists and turns of the hare as it tries to escape, and if they ultimately catch and kill it.

Is hare coursing legal?

No. Hare coursing was made illegal by the Hunting Act 2004.