Pilot of hunting death gyrocopter in court for manslaughter

Bryan Griffiths, the man accused of the manslaughter of hunt supporter Trevor Morse, appears court today.

Griffiths, of Bedworth, Warwickshire, will appear in Birmingham Crown Court in a case that is scheduled to last between two and three weeks but may be over much sooner.

Griffiths was initially accused of murdering Warwickshire hunt supporter Trevor Morse, but the charges were reduced to manslaughter at a hearing last October, at which Griffiths pleaded not guilty.

Mr Morse was hit by the propeller of Griffiths’s gyrocopter at Long Marston Airfield in Warwickshire on 9 March 2009. He suffered severe head injuries and died at the scene.

Countryside Alliance spokesman Chloe Finch said witnesses for the prosecution will include Warwickshire master Antony Spencer and the female hunt supporter who was with Trevor when he was killed.

“We also expect both Peter Bunce of the POWA [Protect Our Wild Animals campaign] who filmed the whole incident and convicted animal rights extremist John Curtin, who was Griffiths’ co-pilot, to appear as witnesses,” she said.

A police spokesman told H&H: “We do not plan to release the video [of the incident] at this stage.”

For regular updates on the case, visit www.horseandhound.co.uk.

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