A HUNTSMAN used his horse as a "missile" to repeatedly barge a woman off her feet while she was filming his activities, a court heard.

Whipper-in Christopher Marles is accused of a "sustained and continuous" attack on 61-year-old Helen Weeks during a meet of the East Devon Hunt last March.

Marles, a 47-year-old farmer from Farringdon, Exeter, admits he assaulted Ms Weeks on the basis his horse accidentally made contact with her and knocked her over during the confrontation.

He denies purposely manoeuvring the animal in a repeated attempt to cause harm, and says the horse only made contact on one occasion.

Yesterday, he apologised to Ms Weeks and her colleague Graham Forsyth, who also fell into a ditch during the incident at Lower Burraton near Whimple, East Devon.

Ms Weeks is a monitor for the League Against Cruel Sports, which films hunts to gather evidence of alleged illegal activity.

She claims he intentionally "backed up" the horse after the first attack to build up momentum for the second and third strikes.

She told Exeter magistrates, who must establish whether the attack was deliberate, Marles approached her on horseback as she was standing between two vehicles, filming.

"The next thing I knew his horse's muzzle hit my shoulder," she said. "It knocked me straight into the ditch."

The court was shown video footage of the hunt monitors remonstrating with the huntsmen, and as the horse repeatedly moved around the narrow lane, a visibly distressed Ms Weeks fell twice more.

Mr Forsyth, who also shot some footage of the incident, told the court Marles used the horse as a "missile". He said: "Helen was shocked and she was shaken. I think she felt violated. She was out doing something she really cares about, and she was subjected to this sort of attack.

"It wasn't just a slap or a knock, it was sustained and continuous. There didn't seem to be any end to it."

During the incident, which lasted about two minutes, the court was told Marles was heard to say the horse, Whisper, was "wild", and then to say "lovely – he loves you".

Mr Forsyth said he believed the words were an "alibi", that Marles was blaming the horse for his actions.

But the defendant told the court he was not a bully. He admitted he was "reckless", and his horse was too close to Ms Weeks, but insisted the contact was accidental.

He apologised to both monitors, and said: "My horse struck her on the shoulder, and I apologise for that, but it wasn't intentional."

He highlighted the tensions between hunts and monitors, saying he had ridden towards the pair to try to block them from filming. He said video footage could be misrepresented, and said the East Devon Hunt had been legally trail hunting.

Prosecutor Mark Haddow said the incident was a "classic assault in unusual circumstances". He said: "Whether you are on top of a horse or in a bar, if you commit an assault, you commit an assault."

The hearing continues in Honiton Magistrates Court on February 11.