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Farmers in south Lincolnshire have urged the public to help stamp out barbaric hare coursing by reporting suspected offenders to the police.

Joining forces with the NFU, Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) is advising families affected by threats and acts of violence, vandalism and theft, not to suffer in silence, but to seek help.

The NFU’s urgent call follows a “surge” in hare coursing across south Lincolnshire in recent weeks, which has included threats, abuse and assaults on farmers, with one victim even being knocked over in his own yard by a vehicle.

Farmers have reported being “plagued” by coursers on a daily basis, with huge damage to crops and fields caused by vehicles driven at break-neck speed and gate locks broken “as soon as we replace them”.

One anonymous hare coursing victim said: “In just the last year I’ve been threatened multiple times, verbally abused and even knocked over in my own yard as they drove through like lunatics whilst trying to escape from neighbouring land.

“I worry for the safety of others due to their recklessness in pursuit of ‘sport’, particularly my wife and baby daughter – even in our own yard.”

Amy Thomas, LRSN’s Head of Charity urged affected farming families to seek help. She said: “The consequences of violence and criminal behaviour on victims can be very difficult to cope with and they affect different people in different ways.

“Facing a violent, abusive or threatening criminal on your own premises could have profound effects on the wellbeing of you, your family and staff, so having someone to talk to and to help your recovery from these traumatic experiences is where LRSN can help.

“We’re here to support Lincolnshire’s rural and farming community through all sorts of challenges; hare coursing incidents and their associated effects can be devastating, and we are here to listen and help.”

Johanna Musson, NFU county adviser for south Lincolnshire, said: “This surge in hare coursing shows there is a determined, hardcore of offenders driving this activity forward and they’re hell bent on carrying on.

“Lincolnshire Police is recruiting the final members of its new rural crime action team and there are tougher laws surrounding hare coursing being discussed, but this situation is happening in Lincolnshire’s fields right now.

“Our farmers and growers need the public to help report suspected hare coursers to police, without putting themselves at risk, to help stamp out this barbaric crime.”

What to look out for:

• Groups of vehicles parked in a rural area eg by a gateway to farmland, on a grass verge, on a farm track or bridle path
• Racing dogs and sighthounds like lurchers, whippets and greyhounds
• Vehicles travelling in convoy, with vans at the front and rear containing minders
• People using binoculars to spot hares
• People walking the edge of a field to frighten a hare into the open

What to do next:

• Ring 999 if hare coursing is taking place
• Take photos or videos, but only if you can do so safely

Hare coursing was banned in the UK by the Hunting Act 2004. It is often committed by organised criminal gangs on large areas of flat farmland suitable for hares, including Lincolnshire. Offenders travel large distances to course hares, with gangs filming the chase for betting purposes.

Tackling carbon emissions from transport in Lincolnshire is currently the biggest challenge to getting the county to net zero emissions by 2050, according to a new study.

The Lincolnshire Carbon Tool, commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council, measured emissions from all sources around the region and showed a general reduction of around 30% since 2005.

However, to achieve its target, the tool reports the region still has a budget of 24.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2020 and 2050.

A report before the authority’s Environment and Executive Committee on Tuesday showed most sectors had seen a reduction in emissions since 2005, however, transport remained mainly steady, taking over from domestic housing as the biggest emitter.

Transport produces around 1.462 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, just under 40% of the county’s total. Business and commerce and domestic housing each accounted for 30% of emissions.

Vehicle upgrades had improved efficiency but the number of journeys made due to online shopping and deliveries, and a move towards large sports utility vehicles (SUVs), were balancing out the benefits. There had been a 70% increase in van deliveries, councillors were told.

The areas with highest transport carbon emissions were the more rural district councils due to the longer distances residents had to travel to access services, while urban centres such as Boston and Lincoln were the lowest producers.

Carbon Emissions in Lincolnshire by Sector 2005-2019. | Data Source: BEIS

Dan Clayton, sustainability manager at LCC, said “There has been a significant reduction that’s occurred so far, but I think what’s happened is that the low-hanging fruit has been taken and the next round of emissions will be more problematic to introduce.”

He told councillors emission reductions in the future would be “largely driven by national government policy” including the stopping of the sale of fully diesel and petrol cars from 2030.

However, the council is working on a local transport plan to improve the situation, including commissioning reports into electric vehicle infrastructure requirements.

Funding options to help businesses introduce energy efficiency technologies are also being looked at through a new Lincolnshire Climate Partnership and Business Lincolnshire.

During the meeting on Tuesday, councillors debated the benefit of online deliveries, new technology, increased emphasis on walking and cycling and improving public transport.

However, concerns were raised including the cost of retrofitting existing houses to be more energy efficient, as well as the suitability of current tech to meet meets.

The council’s green masterplan was also discussed in a separate agenda item and includes plans to improve sustainable transport options.

A wallaby who hopped from a farm park two weeks ago was briefly recaptured before escaping from red faced RSPCA inspectors for a third time!

Ant, who shares an enclosure with pal Dec, remains at large after dodging three attempts to catch him.

The seven-month-old wallaby went solo when he disappeared from Tiny Steps Petting Farm near Bourne, 12 days ago.

Despite numerous sightings in the local area, the escaped marsupial has eluded a team of volunteer wallaby wranglers.

In a bid to contain him, feeding stations have been installed in various locations to try to catch Ant.

On Saturday morning staff at the petting farm checked one of the traps and finally found Ant inside eating the food which had been left there to entice him in.

Have you seen Ant? | Photo: Tiny Steps Petting Farm

They rang for reinforcements to carefully begin the process of moving Ant home, and soon after two RSPCA inspectors arrived.

A blanket was put over the trap to keep Ant calm and the team carefully began to leave the area carrying the trap with Ant inside.

However, after travelling just six metres, the crafty wallaby managed to open the door and he hopped off.

In a post on Facebook, Tracey Hall, owner of Tiny Steps Petting Farm, said: “Words can’t adequately describe the frustration and upset at this happening.

“The trap is made for dogs, foxes and other UK mammals, none of which are even half as strong as a wallaby.

“The metal grille door was almost bent double. As you can imagine, there isn’t too much call in the UK for a wallaby trap.”

With Ant still on the loose, staff at the petting farm will continue to keep feeding him at a ‘very specific couple of locations’, and will be getting hold of a slightly different trap.

They have reminded people not to try chasing him but instead to message Tiny Steps if they spot him.

“He just seems not to be bothered by it at all,” said Ms Hall.

The farm park have not managed to figure out how Ant escaped in the first place.

And despite 15 volunteers standing by to swoop on the fugitive, “there just wasn’t enough” of them to round him up, added Ms Hall.

The pouched runaway has so far even managed to elude an RSPCA specialist called in to work alongside the volunteers.

Ant is thought to be still hiding out close to the farm and a feeding station built for him has been cleared out, suggesting he was “still at large and happy to be so”, Ms Hall said.

“It’s usual not to see much of him during the day and he blends very well into the environment”, she added.

Meanwhile, Dec, described as the “more cautious” of the pair, “doesn’t seem to be upset at all, he’s quite happy”, Mrs Hall said.

Both are Bennet’s Wallabies, and were born in the UK before they arrived at the farm in December.