Rider, 49, dies after hunt fall

Friends of Mr Slater said his life was centred around horses and hounds

A Shropshire man who fell from his horse while out on a hunt has died in hospital four days after the accident.

Mike Slater, 49, was airlifted to hospital with a spinal injury after the accident in Norton in Hales, Market Drayton, on Saturday.

He was riding on a legal trail hunt with the North Staffordshire Hunt, his family and friends said in a statement.

Mr Slater ran Aston Manor Liveries with his wife Debbie. He died in hospital in Staffordshire on Wednesday.

He had been involved in another riding accident in 2003, but made a full recovery.

Mrs Slater said: "Mike was a wonderful human being, who touched the lives of so many people."

She added: "Mike's death is absolutely heartbreaking, but he would have wanted us to stay as positive as possible, to celebrate his life rather than mourn the loss."