Three Holcombe Harrier hounds drowned despite the best efforts of hunt saboteurs to save them after the hunt master chose to hunt hares in dangerous conditions. Holcombe Harrier's hunt was abandoned for the day after hounds smashed through ice on a frozen reservoir while chasing a hare. Members of the hunt and saboteurs tied ropes around themselves and waded into the freezing Ashworth Moor reservoir near Owd Betts, near Bury, to try and rescue the animals. They managed to pull two hounds to safety but three others drowned. The drama began less than an hour after 30 members of the hunt set off on Saturday morning from the Egerton Arms pub in Ashworth Valley.

Saboteurs claim hunt staff lost control of the pack but huntsman Alex Sneddon told the Bolton Evening News he blamed the noise the saboteurs were making for frightening the hare off its usual escape run and across the ice. Hunt followers and saboteurs were quickly on the scene and one follower, John Barlow, tied a rope around his waist and swam out to the struggling hounds.
Saboteurs and followers waded into the icy water and formed a human chain to haul two of them to safety.

Master of Holcombe Harriers Arnold Greenhalgh (left), called off the day's hunting, said: "This was desperately sad. It is the first time that I've seen anything like this happen in 40 years of hunting. "But hunting isn't something you can stage-manage and occasionally tragic incidents do occur to hounds and riders. I would like to pay tribute to everyone who helped with the rescue, including the saboteurs."

The rest of the 45 hounds in the pack escaped from the ice unaided although saboteurs claim three were subsequently knocked down on a nearby road while the rescue went on. The claim is denied by hunt officials.

For Full Story see: Bolton Evening News, Monday 27 January 1997