An incident in which a huntswoman was caught on camera savagely whipping anti-fox hunting protesters with a riding crop in the UK is now being investigated by police.
Video of the confrontation, posted online by a Brighton-based protest group, shows the rider screaming and lashing out at a masked man attempting to grab the reins of her horse during a hunt on Saturday morning.
"Get off my horse!" the huntswoman is heard saying as she strikes the man repeatedly.
She then appears to charge at protesters standing nearby.
The Telegraph reports Sussex Police confirmed that the incident is being investigated.
"A third party report of an assault has been made after a man was allegedly struck with a riding crop by a horse rider," a police spokesperson said.
The victim was reported to have received a bruise and bump to the head, but did not require medical treatment, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the East Sussex & Romney Marsh Hunt Club, which organised the hunt, said while it does not condone any form of violence, riders had been subjected to "extreme provocation, personal harassment and other offences".
The hunt acts lawfully within the confines of the Hunting Act 2004, the spokesperson added.
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