Rural officers have continued to respond to concerns around hare coursing and searched four people in the Basingstoke rural area on Saturday.

We were called at 2.35pm on 23 November to a report that a group were acting suspiciously near Laverstoke.

Officers attended the scene and located two men and two teenage boys, as well as two lurcher-type dogs.

The four males were detained and searched under the poaching act. One of the males received a community resolution for cannabis possession.

No other offences had been committed however officers have used the incident to help build up a picture of potential poaching incidents in the area.

If you become aware of a hare coursing incident in progress, or suspicious vehicles active on private land, please dial 999 when this is happening.

We recognise the impact this type of offending has on individual landowners, in addition to the risk posed by rural criminals who are often involved in other offences such as violence, theft and burglary.

For non-urgent matters, such as sharing information with police about issues that have happened in your area, please call 101, or report information to us at https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/