Melton man arrested on suspicion of violence and hare coursing

A 25-year-old man has been arrested at his Melton Mowbray home in connection with an investigation into violent disorder and criminality that occurred across Cambridgeshire.

He was one of five new arrests linked to the incidents and all were suspected of involvement in violent disorder and attending a hare coursing event on January 25.

The Melton man was questioned by officers on Tuesday and has since been released on bail, say Cambridgeshire Police.

The new arrests also included a 22-year-old man from Stourport-on-Severn, in Worcestershire, and three men, aged 18, 42 and 47, who were arrested at their homes in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, on Tuesday morning. All four remain in police custody in Peterborough.

The total number of arrests in connection with these linked incidents of violent disorder and criminality so far is 20.

The others range in age from 18 to 51 and they were detained in Lincolnshire, Essex, West Midlands and Berkshire.

All men except those arrested on Tuesday and the arrest in Worcester yesterday have been released on bail to return to Thorpe Wood Police Station, Peterborough, in May, with strict conditions.

These include being barred from being with a dog on private land without the owner’s written permission, an order to keep a dog on a lead and a bar on being with a dog in a vehicle outside of a five-mile radius of their home unless its a vet appointment, and not being in possession of a catapult or shot, such as ball bearing, and/or an air weapon or any part of an air weapon.

They also must not shout at, swear at, or intimidate anyone in the 12 counties of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire or Nottinghamshire.

The five men arrested in Slough and Berkshire are subject to a condition that they must not shout at, swear at, or intimidate any persons in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Anyone with any information and video footage that could assist in identifying those involved is asked to email [email protected] or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, online at at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555111.