Home UK British man shot dead by hunter while cycling in Alps

British man shot dead by hunter while cycling in Alps

549
0

A British man has been shot dead by a hunter while cycling in the French Alps.

Mark Sutton, a 34-year-old restaurant owner, was riding a mountain bike when he was shot on Saturday evening.

Prosecutors in France said they were treating the case as "aggravated manslaughter".

Prosecutor Philippe Toccanier said the cyclist "couldn't be confused with game, as he had a coloured helmet and a coloured mountain bike".

A Foreign Office spokeswoman told Sky News: "We are in contact with local authorities about the death of a British man in France and we are providing assistance to his family."

The 22-year-old hunter was taken to hospital for shock, a local prosecutor said.

The victim – who had been cycling on a well-used but hard to access mountain track – was shot as a hunting party of up to 18 people made its way through woods near Montriond, according to reports.

Originally from Wales, he has lived in the small town of Les Gets, southeast France, for the past four years.

His death is the latest in a string of fatal shooting incidents involving hunters in France in recent months.

In December, a 59-year-old hiker was reportedly killed by a wild boar hunter close to the village of Taulignan.

More from France

In October 2017, a 69-year-old woman was said to have died after being hit by a hunter's bullet as she sat in her garden in Taussac.

And in September 2017, a 13-year-old boy was apparently mistakenly shot dead by his grandfather during a hunting trip near the village of Triaize.

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

Sky News

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Previous articleMan dies as car, police vehicle and ambulance collide
Next articleLabour will not vote for ‘blind Brexit’