POLICE crushed a Subaru Forester today that was used by hare coursers in Fenland. The 4x4 was seized in September when police arrested two men from Leicestershire who coursed illegally in the March area. Since October 1 there have been 160 incidents of po

Story by: TOM JACKSON

POLICE crushed a Subaru Forester today that was used by hare coursers in Fenland.

The 4x4 was seized in September when police arrested two men from Leicestershire who coursed illegally in the March area.

Since October 1 there have been 160 incidents of poaching and coursing across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Thirty people have been arrested or summonsed to court and convicted. Ten cars have also been seized.

Pc Simon Page, from the Rural Community Action Team which tackles hare coursing, said: "Hare coursing in Cambridgeshire won't be tolerated an in conjunction with Cambridgeshire's courts we will use all our powers to prosecute offenders.

"This kind of trespassing blights the lives of our rural residents and threatens their livelihood."

A destruction order was placed on the car after the owner was found guilty of three counts of hare coursing.

The Subaru was crushed this morning at Peterborough Metal Recycling - and a final inspection of the car moments before it was crushed found a dead hare wedged inside the bonnet.

In November Charlie Smith and Charlie Gaskin, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, were found guilty under the Game Act of trespassing on three private farms around the March area on September 25.

They were both fined �400 and disqualified from driving at Fenland Magistrates' Court in Wisbech.

Pc Page said: "Most people travel into the county to commit illegal hare coursing, like these two men. They were also arrested for possessing an offensive weapon - they had an iron bar.

"Hare coursing is the force's number one rural priority and we will respond using all the assets available to us, including the helicopter."

• The Rural Community Action Team - known as RCAT - consists of one Sergeant, four Pcs and two PCSOs.