Huntsman may face charges after trampling protester

A woman protesting fox hunting in England has been bowled over by huntsman on horseback, leaving her with serious injuries. 

The anti-fox hunting protester was standing by a gate to an open field in Dorset when the horseback rider in hunting coat and breeches bowled her over.

The huntsman failed to stop as the 43-year-old woman lay unconscious in the mud, with a collapsed lung and seven broken ribs, The Mirror reports.

He was initially arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm over the clash last August but prosecutors decided not to bring charges against him, despite some dramatic dashboard camera footage from a car parked near the gate, saying there was "insufficient evidence that the incident could have been foreseen".

"If you ride at speed through a narrow gap where there are clearly people standing, there must be a risk of hitting them," said the injured woman, named only as Nid, who spent two weeks in hospital recovering.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service has now agreed to review the decision, after 12,000 people signed a petition urging it to reconsider charging the rider.

The CPS said: "We are in communication with the alleged victim and will be in contact with her when we have made a decision".