Hunt supporters filmed ramming car

Protesters had their vehicle rammed by thugs supporting a hunt in Nottinghamshire.

Masked yobs routinely follow hunts to intimidate protesters and often physically abuse them.

In the incident (above) a dark blue Toyota Land Cruiser with no licence plates is seen leaving a farm in Newark and deliberately smashing into a vehicle occupied by hunt saboteurs.

The Manchester Hunt Sabs, who recorded the footage, said in a Facebook post: "As it pulled up alongside us we could see that the occupants of the vehicle were looking for trouble so we decided to move on, as we attempted to pull away they reversed alongside us whilst trying to force us off the road. We managed to get away from them and drove further down the road to meet up with the Sheffield Vehicle."

The group claimed police were alerted but that officers were more interested in dispersing the hunt saboteurs than tracking down the thugs - a common complaint in how forces around the country deal with such issues.

By this time the Toyota Land Cruiser had returned to Gold Hill Farm where it waited for a gap in traffic before violently ramming the Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs vehicle so hard it almost tipped it over, the Manchester group said.

'This was by far the most extreme incident...'

Alec Holland, 32, a volunteer with North West Hunt Saboteurs, who was in one of the vehicles, told the Independent: "Sabs are used to some degree of violence but I never expected them to use their car as a battering ram like that.

"I've been assaulted on several occasions but this was by far the most extreme incident I've been involved in."

Police said they were investigating a report of driving offences and criminal damage on Saturday.

A Grove and Rufford Hunt spokeswoman said told the BBC it "fiercely condemns any form of violence and the type of behaviour shown by these individuals who are not representatives of the hunt".

Hunting foxes with hounds has been illegal since 2004, although many animals are killed "by accident" during so-called trail hunts.

Earlier this month a pregnant vixen was seen being chased through a graveyard in Somerset.