Affiliations: Coordinator of Cheshire Monitors
Location: Farndon, Cheshire
Lesley Martin is a veteran sab whose ego can’t refuse the odd media appearance. Martin’s 15 minutes of sab stardom came in December 2021, when she appeared on BBC’s North West Tonight and took great pleasure in falsely claiming that illegal fox hunting was taking place in Cheshire. She further accused the local hunt of “harassment of locals” - an ironic allegation from a group that counts the violent Manuela Shardana as one of its members.
Despite her vanity kicks, Martin has made a concerted effort to keep her role within the hunt saboteur community mysterious. Her Facebook page, for example, is incredibly furtive.
But local reports claim Martin is the spider sat at the heart of Cheshire’s sab-woven web, operating as the coordinator for the Cheshire Monitors.
Her desire for secrecy probably makes sense when you consider the sorts of criminals that the Cheshire Monitors (and thus Lesley Martin) encourages and facilitates: known abuser and violent sab Paul Allman, extremist Neal Buckoke, corrupt extremist and criminal Daffyd Hughes, and murder-threatening assaulter Richard Williams - to name only a few.
However, even Lesley Martin, tactful as she is, can’t avoid the odd identity slip up:
As the head of the Cheshire Monitors, Martin has encouraged dangerous extremists to disrupt legal trail hunts for years.
Corrupting the Youth of Cheshire
Alongside leading the Cheshire Monitors, Lesley Ann Martin is a 67-year-old environmental ‘educator’ and ‘artist’.
In 2022, she presented an arts & craft session aimed at children for Lancashire Wildlife Trust. As part of the presentation, Lesley suggests ways in which ‘people can make their walks more interesting for children’, such as creating a miniature garden in a Tupperware box with some soil. Thrilling stuff.
But what would the hardworking, wholesome staff at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust think if they knew they had platformed someone to speak to children who actively encourages and facilitates menacing criminals like Paul Allman, Neal Buckoke, and the Stockport Monitors more generally to harass members of the countryside, trespass, and, in some cases, behave violently and break the law?
Her attempts to infiltrate the minds of the youth don’t end there.
We received a statement from one parent, neutral to trail hunting, of a child attending Shocklach Oviatt Primary School. Lesley Martin had reportedly got a gig with the Cheshire Wildlife Trust to talk to the school on 23 June 2022.
“I’m not sure if she was a volunteer or paid by the trust but she was wearing clothing with ‘Cheshire Wildlife Trust’ on it and taking a lead role in the activity,” alleged the parent, who wishes to remain anonymous.
“During the day she made no effort to hide the fact that she was anti-hunting and spoke about her involvement with the Cheshire Monitors. She was speaking about this to another parent in front of myself and the children. Mrs Jones [a teacher] was aware of this topic being discussed and she managed to divert the conversation away from anti-hunting,” she explained.
However, this did not deter the relentless Lesley. “She still went on to quiz people about where they lived and what their involvements were with country sports and it felt very uncomfortable. I am well aware that the Cheshire Monitors have links to Paul Allman who has been convicted and well reported in the press for inflicting violence. He often attends hunts with the Cheshire monitors and attends with other men in balaclavas and goes out of his way to intimidate and assault people. It is for this reason I wish to remain anonymous, but I know that I am not the only person that heard Lesley Martin talking about her activities with the Cheshire Monitors whilst carrying out her work for the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.”
Intimidation
Behind The Masks received yet another statement from a concerned parent and hunt supporter:
“I came across Lesley Martin in January 2022. We live in a rural location and my family have supported the Wynnstay Hunt for decades. Whilst I don’t see myself as a regular hunt supporter, if they are close to home we will take the children out. On this particular occasion we had walked from home to a viewing point. We were minding our own business when we were approached by Lesley. She was very confrontational and had very strong views about us spectating and having our children present. We moved away from Lesley but she followed us to continue to dictate her views and had fellow anti-hunt supporters in near proximity. Some of these were men with their faces covered. As a lone woman out with my children I felt very intimidated.”
“I was mortified to find out that subsequently, on 23 June 2022, she taught a class at my Children’s school. Thankfully my children weren’t involved and I have made sure that they will not have any involvement with the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. I have no doubt they would recognise Lesley Martin as the experience left them shaken. I want to remain anonymous as I have seen how intimidating this group of people can be,” the source added.
So aside from aiding and abetting known criminals, it seems Martin is an intimidating presence herself. Her behaviour is deeply concerning and reflects the actions of someone with a troubled mind.
Got more information about Lesley Martin? Send a tip to info@behindthemasks.co.uk or WhatsApp 07985 517 452.