THOUSANDS of pounds in bets are being made at illegal hare coursing competitions in East Lothian.

Reports of hare course near East Linton and south-east of Gifford have been passed on to police.

Police Constable Charlie Duncan, Haddington and Lammermuir ward officer, highlighted the problem at the ward’s community and police partnership (CAPP) meeting and described the crime as “a horrendous activity”.

He said: “Constable Lorna Bairden and I are about to embark on the quad bike training course to combat some of the hare coursing that has been going on.”

His colleague, who was not at the meeting, later confirmed the activity – the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight – had been going on.

She said: “As the harvest is drawing to a close, we currently have more and more stubble fields in East Lothian.

“This is the time of year when we tend to see a spike in hare coursing. This is a crime and should not be taken lightly.”

The officer told the Courier that there were signs that hare coursing was being carried out.

She added: “You can usually tell when a field is being worked, you can see people walking in a line across the field and will have long dogs/lurchers on slip leads.

“This enables them to quickly release the hounds on putting up a hare.

“Lurchers are a similar shape to greyhounds. They will usually be greyhound or saluki crosses.

“They are sight hounds with a strong chase instinct. The dogs chase the hare until either it escapes or is caught and killed.

“The body of the hare is usually just left in the field.

”There are several illegal competitions run at this time of year and it is believed that a couple of them will occur in East Lothian this year.

“Many thousands of pounds change hand whilst betting on these dogs.”

Anyone who spots suspicious activities around a field is urged to contact Police Scotland with details of the person and any potential vehicles involved on 101.