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| Kent huntsman Brian Fraser cleared of trying to murder ex | Kent huntsman Brian Fraser cleared of trying to murder ex |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A leading Kent huntsman has been found not guilty of trying to kill his former lover. | A leading Kent huntsman has been found not guilty of trying to kill his former lover. |
| Brian Fraser, 63, ex-master of the Ashford Valley Hunt, was accused of shooting Louise Leggatt last year. | Brian Fraser, 63, ex-master of the Ashford Valley Hunt, was accused of shooting Louise Leggatt last year. |
| Maidstone Crown Court heard Ms Leggatt suffered leg injuries when she was shot as she tended her horses, on 15 March. | Maidstone Crown Court heard Ms Leggatt suffered leg injuries when she was shot as she tended her horses, on 15 March. |
| Fraser, of Criol Lane, Shadoxhurst, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but admitted possessing a firearm without a licence. | Fraser, of Criol Lane, Shadoxhurst, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but admitted possessing a firearm without a licence. |
| He was cleared of an alternative charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. | He was cleared of an alternative charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. |
| Fraser was accused of pulling the trigger "in a fit of pique" in a bid to murder Louise Leggatt as she went to tend her horses at Apple Pie Farm in Benenden in the district of Tunbridge Wells. | Fraser was accused of pulling the trigger "in a fit of pique" in a bid to murder Louise Leggatt as she went to tend her horses at Apple Pie Farm in Benenden in the district of Tunbridge Wells. |
| 'Lackadaisical attitude' | |
| Prosecutors claimed Mrs Leggatt had rejected his efforts to rekindle their romance following the end of their five-year relationship. | Prosecutors claimed Mrs Leggatt had rejected his efforts to rekindle their romance following the end of their five-year relationship. |
| Married Fraser denied responsibility for shooting Mrs Leggatt and was found not guilty following a trial. | |
| Judge Charles Byers warned Fraser he remained "at risk" of going to prison over the firearms offence. | |
| He told him: "I have never come across such a lackadaisical and irresponsible attitude to firearms, particularly from someone described as a countryman." | |
| During the trial, the court heard police had found an old, single-barrelled shotgun hidden between two hay bales on his land along with some cartridges. | |
| Fraser had initially told police he had not owned a shotgun for 20 years, and when officers disclosed that one had been found on his land, he suggested he was being framed. | |
| But later he admitted he did own the gun, telling officers it had been handed down to him by his father. | |
| He is due to be sentenced on 18 March. |