Warwickshire Hunt filmed causing traffic disruption on high crash risk section of the busy Fosse Way

Members of the Warwickshire Hunt have been filmed causing traffic disruption on a high crash risk section of the busy Fosse Way in Warwickshire.

This comes after a Community Protection Notice (CPN) issued to them for anti-social use of public roads was controversially dropped by Warwickshire Police and replaced by a protocol, which has not been made public.

In the recent incident near Stretton-on-Fosse, cars were forced to brake sharply as they came around blind corners and saw stationary horses in the road.

On one occasion, a member of the hunt was seen chatting on his phone while on his horse, as traffic queued behind him.

However, Warwickshire Hunt said their riders were not breaking any laws and had every right to be there.

The footage was shot by members of West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs and Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said “This is both shocking and also unsurprising. The Warwickshire Hunt are doing what they have always done and using public roads as their own personal playground no matter how dangerous that road happens to be. It will come as little surprise to anyone that a fox was seen running away from the two riders on the road.

"The blame for this situation lies squarely at the senior officers of Warwickshire Police who have given the hunt the green light to carry on as they did before and seem to have emboldened the hunt who are now acting even more recklessly than before. It’s only a matter of time before a serious accident happens and the sad thing is that all of this could have been prevented by the original CPN.”

In response, the Warwickshire Hunt said: "The Warwickshire Hunt operates within the confines of the Hunting Act and conducts lawful trail hunting activities. As with any company, the hunt also complies with all other relevant legislation.

"The Highway Code specifically refers to horse riders being vulnerable road users and new guidance was recently published to advise drivers how to pass horses safely while they are using public roads, which they are, of course, perfectly entitled to use."

They then went on to point the finger at the West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs, claiming they continuously harass their members and carefully edit their footage in their favour.