Shropshire huntmaster Otis Ferry today spoke of his “frustration” at the criminal justice system after being cleared of charges of “witness nobbling”.

Mr Ferry, 26, the son of Roxy Music singer Brian Ferry, was cleared of two counts of perverting the course of justice at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday.

He had been accused of telling his former groom David Hodgkiss not to give evidence against him in a forthcoming trial.

The charges saw him locked up on remand for four months. But the prosecution formally offered no evidence on both charges.

Mr Ferry, of Eaton Mascott, near Shrewsbury, said the verdict was not a big surprise to him.

He said: “It was inevitable because I always knew I had not done anything wrong.

“It is very frustrating and I’m glad that it’s finally happened, but for me it’s not any great relief.

“I have had the punishment and the hard time.”

Mr Ferry said he always knew he was not guilty.

He said: “The whole proceedings in general have been a huge burden. It’s horrible to have a court case hanging over your head as you can never relax.”

Mr Ferry, joint master of the South Shropshire Hunt, said a lot of people were disgusted with the way he had been treated.

“Prison is four months of my life gone and not a very nice experience. I think it would be very easy to build up a lot of bitterness and resentment but my way has just been to put it behind me as another chapter of my life,” he said.

Mr Ferry said he was now back in Shropshire and looking forward to the start of the next hunting season in November.

Mr Ferry still faces a trial over allegations he robbed hunt monitors Helen Ghalmi and Susan Grima of a video camera and keys in November 2007 during the Heythrop Hunt which spans Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

He is also accused of a common assault on Ms Ghalmi during a meeting near Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

The case is listed for September 28 at Gloucester Crown Court. Legal argument relating to the trial will take place on May 22.

By Rebecca Lawrence