Gangs, violence and dumped dead animals: The hidden world of illegal hare hunts

On a remote Cambridgeshire farm, where his nearest neighbour is half a mile away, Mathew Latta was making lunch when the peace was shattered by the sound of loud exhausts.

Latta ran to the window to see a convoy of more than a dozen 4x4s heading towards his farm. His iron gates were cut open with an angle grinder and concrete blocks were shifted out of the way to clear the convoy’s path.

The vehicles drove right over his fields at speed, tearing up the crops and skirting the fence by the family’s garden. Then more than 70 people got out of the vehicles, men dressed in military fatigues and balaclavas, cheering and playing music.

Dogs were brought out on leads and began to hunt hares.

“They were all stood up on their cars with binoculars,” says Latta. “I would say this is 100% a properly organised coursing event, with competitors and competitive dogs. People watching the course – and watching and betting on that sport. It was quite terrifying.”

Warning: This story contains images of dead animals

Latta and his family were trapped in their home. They kept calling the police, but nobody came. His daughter, then aged seven, was terrified and kept asking: “Are these men gonna come inside, daddy?”

More than three hours later, the bloodsport was finally over and the crowd dispersed. They left behind four cars, one of them a burnt-out wreck. It emerged that, earlier that day, the convoy had rampaged through an area 20 miles (32km) long in the county, forcing other cars off the road and even robbing a petrol station.