A HUNT supporter from North Yorkshire has been cleared of driving his car into a slushy puddle to drench two animal rights campaigners and a child with icy water as they protested at a famous New Year meet in the county.

Colin Pickering, 63, of Prospect Place, Thornton-le-Dale, denied driving without reasonable consideration to others on January 1 in the village, when he appeared at Pickering Magistrates Court yesterday.

Paul Bowater, prosecuting, said that on New Year's Day, at about 11am, outside The Hall, at Church Hill, Thornton-le-Dale, Mr Pickering deliberately drove his blue Volvo estate through an icy puddle near protesters Annabel Holt, of Stearsby, near Malton, and Linda Smith and her nine-year-old daughter, Charlotte, soaking them.

"We were just holding our banners up. First of all we started getting snowballs chucked at us, then some abuse and then a person came up to us in a blue boiler suit and started mouthing off," said Miss Smith.

"He left . . . I heard the car engine. It came right up to us, right up to the kerb and splashed myself and my daughter with lots of slush and ice."

Miss Smith said she took down part of the registration number and claimed the vehicle turned round and drove back past them again. This time the driver made an obscene hand gesture, she alleged.

Mrs Holt said she saw the Volvo drive directly towards her.

"It was a deliberate splash. It was a nasty thing to do. It was utterly deliberate and I won't take that back," said Mrs Holt.

Tim Fletcher, for Mr Pickering, said that he had taken his four-year-old grandson to the meet.

Mr Pickering claimed that Miss Smith shouted abuse at the riders and he asked her to mind her language in front of the children.

Mr Pickering said that it was "absolutely untrue" that he had driven through the puddle in order to splash the group and denied making a rude gesture.

When asked what he thought about hunt protesters, Mr Pickering said that it must take a "special type of person".

Magistrates chairman David Harrison said they acquitted Mr Pickering of the offence because there were several discrepancies in the prosecution evidence.

Updated: 11:06 Saturday, August 14, 2004