THREE Aveley men have been issued with legal orders after police received reports of hare coursing in a field at Blackmore.

Following these reports, a group of three people were tracked by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter across the field on 4 October.

When the group reached Mountnessing Road, they were met by officers from Brentwood Local Policing Team who had been guided in by the helicopter crew. The men had three dogs with them on leads.

Now, three Aveley men, aged 28, 24 and 19, have been issued with community protection notices which run for three years. CPNs tell people they must stop certain behaviour or risk further action. 

The orders do not constitute notification of a criminal action.

The three men were issued warnings after being stopped in a field in Aveley.

PC Callum Barber, of Essex Police's Rural Engagement Team, explains: "We can issue community protection notices if we think they've been involved in hare coursing, even if we don't have enough evidence to charge them with a crime. 

"Hare coursing is often linked to organised crime and involves trespassing, cruelty to animals and threats to farmers and landowners. 

"These three men ignored a community protection warning issued just two weeks previously so the next step is a community protection notice which, if breached, can lead to fines or criminal prosecution, as well as seizure and forfeiture of relevant property. 

"Courts take such breaches seriously when dealing with hare coursing cases."

In this case, the CPNs warn the recipients that their conduct is 'unreasonable' and 'having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.

"The particular issues are illegal coursing, lamping and poaching, trespassing in search of game and the anti-social behaviour that these activities bring in Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk", the notices state.

The recipients must comply with the following conditions to prevent the 'detrimental effect' of their conduct from continuing or reoccurring:

• Not to be in possession of, or be in control of, or be in the company of any dog on private land without the owner's written permission
• When in possession of, in control of or in the company of any dog, said dog must be on a lead
• Not to be in a vehicle with any dog while outside a five-mile radius of your home address, unless for a pre-arranged veterinary appointment
• Not to be in possession of a catapult or shot, such as ball bearing, and/or an air weapon or any part of an air weapon

Police have also issued the following:

Do you have information?

If you see hare coursing taking place, ring 999 immediately and provide as much information as you can – for example, a What3Words location, a description of the people involved, vehicle registration numbers, vehicle descriptions and the location and direction of travel.

When the police give you a reference number, please put this and the day's date into any WhatsApp groups you are a part of so that anyone in the area with information can ring us and we can link it to the same incident, if relevant.

However, it is very important that you don't put yourself at risk.

If you see anything which you feel needs police attention, or you have information about a crime or criminal activity, always ring 999 if it is an emergency or a crime in progress.

Otherwise, you can report it online at www.essex.police.uk/ro where you can also speak to an online Live Chat operator. Alternatively, you can ring 101.

"If you would like to make an anonymous report, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on Twitter at @CrimestoppersUK, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111."

Crime prevention

For specialist crime prevention advice and other information, visit the Essex Police Rural Crime webpages at www.essex.police.uk/ruralcrime