Two men have been arrested on suspicion of hare coursing - and two of their dogs and their car seized.

This comes in the same week that the police have seized a number of vehicles suspected to be linked to criminal damage and hare coursing incidents in the Marlborough Downs area.

Officers were alerted to suspicious activity in a field in Broad Hinton near Swindon on Friday, October 29 and found a group of men in a field with several dogs.

One of the dogs was chasing a hare.

When the group was approached by officers, some made off but two men, aged 32 and 23, were subsequently detained.

Police seized two lurcher dogs and a Ford Ranger car, under the Hunting Act.

The two suspects have since been released under investigation.

PC Marc Jackson said: “We take reports of hare coursing and other rural crimes extremely seriously.

"Where we find people engaging in this illegal activity, we will deal robustly with those we suspect of taking part in this cruel pursuit.

“As part of our commitment to tackling hare coursing, Wiltshire Police has signed up to Operation Galileo, a partnership of 24 police forces around the country to share information and intelligence on offenders who cause greatest harm to our rural communities.

“We are also working closely with those who live and work in our rural communities to continue to share information to allow us to stamp down on hare coursers and other crimes.”

Further enquiries are being conducted to try and identify who were using a number of vehicles seized in the Marlborough Downs area as the cars are suspected to be linked to hare coursing and criminal damage.

Neighbouring police forces are also being consulted.