Animal rights activists admit trying to stop Scottish Grand National

The showpiece event took place at Ayr Racecourse in April.
The case called at Ayr Sheriff Court on Wednesday (John Linton/PA)
PA Archive
Lucinda Cameron30 August 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two animal rights campaigners have admitted trying to stop the Scottish Grand National from taking place by entering the track.

Rose Paterson, 34, from London, and Joshua Parkinson, 27, from Leeds, were among 24 people from the Animal Rising group charged by police after disruption on the day of the race in Ayr in April.

Lawyer Clare Ryan, representing Paterson and Parkinson, entered guilty pleas on their behalf to a charge of committing a breach of the peace by conducting themselves in a disorderly manner and forming part of a disorderly crowd to overcome security and enter the racetrack.

They admitted entering the track at Ayr Racecourse when a race meeting was in progress equipped with glue, piping and other implements designed to enable people to secure themselves to jumps, fences or railings on April 22.

They denied a second charge of trespassing at Ayr Racecourse on the same date, which was accepted by the Crown when the case called at Ayr Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Sheriff Siobhan Connelly said the pair, who were excused attendance, will be sentenced next month.

Procedural hearings also took place for a number of others who face the same two charges, and were also excused attendance on Wednesday.

Gemma Barnes, 23, from Norwich; Miranda Courtney, 39, from Leeds; Jamie Carter, 28, from Norwich; Nathan McGovern, 24, from London; Benjamin Stevenson, 23, from London; Zuki Paul, 23, from Reading; Imogen Robertson, 22, from Stirling; Alex Hamil, 55, from Bath; Robert Houston, 44, from London; Jennifer d’Netto, 54, from Malvern Wells; Joshua Lane, 26, from Alfreton; Calum Marshall, 25, from Edinburgh; and Claire Smith, 25, from Leeds, maintained their not guilty pleas through their lawyers and will stand trial next month.

The Scottish Grand National was not delayed and the 18-horse race, which started at 3.38pm, was won by Kitty Light.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in