Trail hunters and campaigners clash after Fordham meet

The East Essex Hunt group was spotted in Hammonds Farm, Fordham, before heading south with their pack of hounds.

Fox hunts are now illegal in the UK and so the dogs instead follow pre-laid scents.

The East Essex Hunt group’s latest outing in the area was disrupted by the North London Hunt Saboteurs, who say they “stand up to hunting in all its forms”.

It is understood they followed the hunt towards Mount Bures and after confronting head huntsman Gary Thorpe, they headed in the direction of Pebmarsh.

In a video, Mr Thorpe is seen stopping to speak with the campaigners before saying he will “use the horse as a weapon” and grabbing a camera.

However, the hunt claims the clip has been edited.

A spokesman for the North London Hunt Saboteurs said: “We were called everything from extremists to alcoholics and jobless losers.

“We think Gary’s paying subscribers were the only ones more bored than us, but, while he was spouting off at saboteurs, he is not hunting, so that is a good thing.

“Gary failed to intimidate us, just like he failed to hide from us and after his failed attack, Gary ran away.

“We continued after him and caught up with him.

“He waited in a field for his riders to catch up and began a long hack back to the meet accompanied by saboteurs.”

The East Essex Hunt group confirmed a hunt meet did take place in Fordham.

However, before embarking on their hunt they were granted permission by landowners - something the group says the saboteurs did not have.

A spokeswoman said: “I have seen the video and this has been heavily edited.

“I can confirm we were trail hunting across land we had been given permission to be on by the owners of that land.

“The hunt saboteurs that followed us did not have permission to be on any of this land.”