An illegal foxhunting charge against a former hunt master has been dropped - whilst two men have faced a second day on trial.

Mark Pearson, 64, of Blandford, had been on trial with two others from the Portman Hunt accused of hunting a wild mammal with dogs near Stourpaine in September 2022.

Prosecutors offered no evidence against him on the second day of the trial at Weymouth Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Thomas Michael Lyle, 34, and Marcus Boundy, 22, remain accused of the charge, which they deny.

Former police officer Martin Sims gave evidence to court as an expert witness.

Mr Sims worked escorting hunts for the police from 1987 until 1998, before foxhunting was illegal.

He then later spent four years as the director of investigations for the League Against Cruel Sports.

Mr Sims told the court that the hunting activity which was caught on camera mirrored activity which would have been seen in traditional fox hunting and said the defendants did not make an attempt to call off the dogs after a fox was sighted.

Stephen Welford, defending, made an application for the evidence from Mr Sims to be withdrawn on the grounds of bias and a lack of experience.

Mr Sims, when asked, said he “had never seen a trail hunt”.

Adam Cooper, prosecuting, argued that Mr Sims had a “lengthy career in public service” as a policeman and understood his role was “to be objective”.

Magistrates’ ruled that Mr Sims’ evidence should not be excluded.

The trial continues.