Your Police Budget at Work
Telegraph | News | Police camera crew keeps tabs on hunt
The scene could hardly be more traditionally English: the hunt gathering on Boxing Day, stirrup cups raised, surrounded by eager supporters.
But only yards away the police were filming the entire event as the Avon Vale prepared to ride out from Lacock, Wilts, on one of the sport's busiest-ever days, with 320,000 people attending meets.
Two officers, leaning from a window, used a hand-held video camera to film the gathering. The meeting, like hundreds of others, passed without incident but Wiltshire police insisted that the filming was standard practice in case things got "out of hand".
Insp Roger Bull said: "This is a major hunt meeting. It is quite normal for us to use evidence-gathering facilities of this nature. There is always the potential for some people to allow matters to get out of hand."
Welcome to nuEngland where overt police surveillance of people going about their lawful pleasure is the norm and the old traditions of the country are consigned to the tea towels and chocolate boxes...