HUNT saboteurs say they were attacked during an event in North Yorkshire.

Members of the North East Hunt Saboteurs, who promote non-violent tactics such as blowing hunting horns or voicing calls to confuse hounds and disrupt fox hunts, say they were at a Middleton Hunt event near York, when windows of a car they were using were attacked in what they called “a cowardly attack on a female driver and their passenger”.

A spokesman for the North East Hunt Saboteurs said attackers “used spades to smash the windscreen and a side window whilst a red coat from the hunt blocked the road”, while a female driver and her passenger were inside the vehicle, and “excellent driving enabled the sabs to escape before further damage was caused”.

Lee Moon, from the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said: “These are dark days in the British countryside. Violent hunt thugs are acting with impunity knowing that the police, if not actively pro-hunt, will certainly turn a blind eye to violence from the powerful hunting community.

“Fortunately hunt sabs are a tough bunch who know they are supported by the majority of the population and we become even more determined to stop the hunts killing when faced with violence.”

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: “We received a call at 10.51am on Sunday, March 20, reporting criminal damage to a Vauxhall Zafira which occurred in Scrayingham, York.

“Police are conducting enquiries to determine the events around the incident. Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information which could assist the investigation is asked to contact Force Control Room on 101 and quote reference 12160048548.”

Earlier this month, police and the RSPCA confirmed they were investigating an incident where a fox had been chased into private property in Easingwold by hounds from the York and Ainsty Hunt, and garden furniture had been damaged.