Hunt saboteurs arrested

More than 80 animal rights protesters and hunt saboteurs were arrested in a weekend of demonstrations targeted at farming and blood sports in Cheshire, police said yesterday.

The protests, some of which were violent, according to the police, were timed to coincide with the anniversary of the death of hunt saboteur Michael Hill, who was killed in 1991 after he fell under the wheels of a hunt vehicle in Northwich. In one incident at Rockly Hall, Tattenhall, six men wearing balaclavas beat a 21-year-old man with clubs and a whip. He was taken to hospital and treated for bruising.