Ref 16039/40GAZETTE & HERALD: As he sat in prison after raiding the Houses of Parliament chef Nick Wood's main concerns were for an uncooked shepherd's pie in Lacock.

"We were all allowed one phone call. I used mine to call the butler and tell him to get the shepherd's pie in so that it would be ready for Lady Weinstock's supper," says the divorced 41-year-old father-of-two.

Mr Wood cooks full-time for the Lacock family and lives in an apartment above their stables. On September 15 he was one of the 'Westminster eight' who raided the Houses of Parliament in protest against the Government's hunting bill.

Their subsequent arrest and charging under section 5 of the Public Order Act will see them appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court on May 23 with estimated legal fees of £70,000.

That money has now been raised thanks to the Countryside Alliance and also a huge turnout at a fundraising dinner organised by Mr Wood last Monday.

"It was an incredible night. We had hoped to raise somewhere in the region of £15,000 put we ended up raising about £50,000," he said.

The London dinner took place at Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill a restaurant co-owned by jockey Frankie Dettori and chef Marco Pierre White and saw 200 people coming for dinner (at £100 a head) and a further 100 people joining afterwards for drinks and an auction.

Rock star Bryan Ferry attended with support also coming from names such as Jeremy Irons, Vinnie Jones, and the Guinness family.

Auctioned items included a copy of Hansard signed by the 'Westminster eight' worth £2 being sold for £7,000 and a signed pair of Frankie Dettori's breeches selling for £2,000.

Mr Wood, who was trained by the Roux brothers and has cooked for the Queen as a junior chef at Buckingham Palace in the mid 80s, raised £6,000 by auctioning a meal for 12 to be cooked by him.

With the money raised Mr Wood now awaits his appearance in court.

"We look forward to our day in court believing that the British justice system will provide a fair outcome as opposed to what we really believe has been a prejudicial performance from the Government," he said.

Although not a huntsman Mr Wood decided to take part in the raid in the hope of embarrassing the Government after being enraged by what he felt was an illegal law. The raid itself was a catalogue of comic events which Mr Wood still can't believe they were able to achieve.

On the Sunday night Mr Wood was invited to take part in an 'audacious plan.' The Monday saw a planning evening held in a London restaurant followed by the arrival of further recruits before the plan proper was launched on Wednesday the day the hunting Bill was passed.

"To be honest we were a real bunch of country bumpkins. Some of the guys didn't know which way to go on the tube and when we got off we ended up walking in the wrong direction and had to turn round again."

After a few stiffeners in a pub the group approached the Houses of Parliament dressed as electricians and Mr Wood the oldest of the group and designated father-figure talked their way through the cordons.

"I managed it somehow although if you ask me we looked more like the village people than electricians." On their way to the chamber they opened a committee room door to be confronted by another, and this time real, electrician.

"It was quite a surprise so I just asked him how everything was going to which he replied 'Very well, sir.' We closed the door and just couldn't help laughing. It all just seemed so ridiculous."

The group stripped down to their suits as they passed ministers and members of the press before they entered the chamber.

"My initial response was 'This isn't the room, there are no members in here.'

"We then got tackled by the men in tights and the whole thing became like a Shakespearean pantomime and the rest you know."

In the police cells the men were given a meal. "It just so happened that it was shepherd's pie. And it was quite a good one," said Mr Wood.

Trio charged with poaching

THREE men charged with poaching, just one day after the hunting ban came into effect, appeared at Chippenham magistrates last Thursday.

They were arrested in February between Sherston and Hullavington and charged with poaching by night, a matter of hours after the legislation was passed.

Timothy Barry, 54, of Cork and Steven Edwards, 32, from Mid Glamorgan were both charged with poaching, while Davyn Jones, 33 also from Mid Glamorgan, South Wales, was charged with poaching and having a blade or point in a public place.

The men did not enter a plea. Gerard Mabey, 33, charged with poaching and possessing a firearm did not appear because he was unwell.

The men have been released on unconditional bail and will reappear on May 19.