FIVE men have been reported for hare coursing offences after Essex Police rural engagement officers seized four dogs and four vehicles in the Dengie marshes.

Assisted by local officers and supported by the force's Dog Section and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter, they were deployed after we received several reports of hare coursing on Wednesday, 28 October around 8am.

Five men, in their 20s and 30s, from Basildon, Cambridgeshire, London and Northamptonshire, have now been reported for participating in a hare coursing event – an offence under the Hunting Act 2004.

They were also issued with community protection warnings, which will remain in place for three years. CPWs require people to stop specified behaviour. If they are ignored, the next step is a community protection notice which, if breached, can lead to fines or criminal prosecution.

Three other people will be interviewed later about the incident.

Inspector Terry Jacobs, of the Rural Engagement Team, says: "Hare coursing can have a devastating impact on rural communities. It causes distress to farmers and landowners, damages land and crops and puts wildlife at risk. We are committed to tackling this criminal activity and pursuing those responsible.

"We rely heavily on our rural communities being our eyes and ears – information provided promptly by the public enables officers to respond quickly to hare coursing incidents.

"I would encourage anyone who witnesses suspicious activity, particularly vehicles or individuals acting suspiciously around farmland, to report it to us immediately by ringing 999. But please don't put yourself at risk to do so."

Essex Police neighbourhood policing teams and its Rural Engagement Team continue to work closely with farmers, landowners and our rural communities to prevent and disrupt hare coursing and other forms of rural crime.

Do you have information?

If you see hare coursing taking place, ring 999 immediately and provide as much information as you can – for example, a What3Words location, a description of the people involved, vehicle registration numbers, vehicle descriptions and the location and direction of travel.

When the police give you a reference number, please put this and the day's date into any WhatsApp groups you are a part of so that anyone in the area with information can ring police, who can link it to the same incident, if relevant.

However, it is very important that you don't put yourself at risk.

If you see anything which you feel needs police attention, or you have information about a crime or criminal activity, always ring 999 if it is an emergency or a crime in progress.

Otherwise, you can report it online at https://www.essex.police.uk/ro where you can also use the 24/7 Live Chat service. Alternatively, you can ring 101.

You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, online or by calling 0800 555 111.

For crime prevention advice, visit the Rural Crime webpages at www.essex.police.uk/ruralcrime

LINK: https://www.essex.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rc/rural-crime