A BRIDE-TO-BE has had her wedding plans left in ruins after a venue refused to hold her ceremony because she is against fox hunting.

Zoe Mendies, 25, was told by the owners of Notley Tythe Barn, in Long Crendon, that they will not hold her wedding there because she works for the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) which campaigned successfully to have hunting banned.

They said it would not be right to hold the marriage there because of the abuse they have suffered from hunt saboteurs associated with the LACS.

Miss Mendies, who works in the group's press office, said: "If this is a tit for tat get back' because hunting is about to be banned I'm disgusted that a wedding venue would behave in such an unprofessional manner.

"We had our hearts set on the barn and our wedding plans are in tatters."

Miss Mendies and long-term partner Kushal Patel, 25, who live in London, had been in discussions with Notley Tythe Barn for about two months with a view to holding a mixed traditional English and Hindu wedding there in October next year.

The couple go away travelling for nine months soon and hoped to have all the wedding plans sorted out before their trip.

Miss Mendies received a call on Saturday, September 25th, saying the barn would not be holding their ceremony and now she may have to leave her mother in charge of finding a venue when she goes away.

Denise Reynolds, owner of the venue, who hunts with the Bicester with Whaddon Chase, said she has nothing against the couple personally, and said they were charming, but it was a moral issue.

She said: "Myself and my family have suffered physical and verbal abuse from people associated with the LACS.

"Miss Mendies is entitled to her opinion and her anti-hunt views are not a problem, but the LACS are so violent and aggressive in their opposition that we did not feel we wanted someone associated with the group here."

Miss Mendies added: "We have been campaigning for 80 years and do so in a peaceful way.

"I would be very surprised if our supporters have been violent or intimidating towards her.

"It is not the stance that we take."

The Reynolds family has owned the barn and Notley Farm, near Thame, for 350 years and Mrs Reynolds said they rely on fox control to protect their sheep.