Four men are due in court over an alleged poaching incident near Blandford - after a police helicopter and armed response units helped to chase them down.

At 8.59pm on Friday, July 30, Dorset Police received a report that men were driving a silver 4x4 type vehicle in fields targeting hares and damaging property.

Officers attended, including armed response units, as well as the National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter.

Police chased the car and a number of men attempted to make off after leaving the vehicle.

A police helicopter and armed officers chased the suspected poachers down in fields near Blandford and seized dogs and a gun before arresting the four men.

A 28-year-old man from Basildon in Essex, a 24-year-old man from Romford in Essex, a 21-year-old from Milton in Cambridgeshire and a 19-year-old from Stondon Massey in Essex have been issued with postal requisitions to appear at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, December 8 2021 for an offence of trespassing in pursuit of game.