A hunt monitor has told a court he saw hounds illegally chasing foxes three times in one day.

Ed Shephard said he had secretly filmed the Harborough-based Fernie Hunt for several hours.

Mr Shephard, an investigations officer with the League Against Cruel Sports, was giving evidence yesterday in the trial of two hunt employees at Leicester Magistrates.

Derek Hopkins, the huntsman with the Fernie, and terrierman Kevin Allen both face charges under the Hunting Act 2004 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

Both Hopkins (45), of Welham Road, Great Bowden, and Allen (51), of Nether Green, Great Bowden, deny hunting a wild mammal with a dog contrary to the law.

They also deny digging a badger sett or being reckless that their actions would damage it.

Mr Shephard said the first filming was south east of Thorpe Langton with "the hounds in cry with the huntsman urging them on" shortly after he had seen a fox run across a field close by.

That was just before midday and hour later near the hamlet of Stonton Wyville.

He said that he saw hounds "mark" a spot on a hedge where he believed a fox had gone to ground in a badger's sett.

Mr Shephard said immediately before that he saw "the hounds running as a pack as if chasing something."

The huntsman called in the terrierman, who was riding a quad bike. He said a terrier was put in the tunnel.

Mr Shephard said two men then started digging a hole to retrieve the terrier.

Shortly afterwards, the fox bolted out of the same hole.

Mr Shephard said later he filmed hounds "following the line" of a fox which had run into a field.

Defence counsel Philip Mott QC suggested that the hounds could have become agitated while following a trail laid artificially.

The case continues.