A pensioner was arrested for "harassment" as police clashed with hunt saboteurs near Canterbury.

A video, which shows officers confronting a man in Cullens Hill, Elham - near the hunt kennels - has been widely shared after being posted yesterday.

In the clip, which was filmed by the West Kent Hunt Sabs group, two police officers can be seen asking a man filming to provide his details as he blocks a road.

Reports suggest the police were contacted in the interest of public safety, after some saboteurs allegedly wore face coverings.

Releasing the footage on Facebook, the West Kent Hunt Sabs claimed: "Both our Kent Sab vehicles were at least a kilometre away from the kennels when two unmarked police cars blocked one of our drivers in on a dead end road.

"Four plain clothed cops who had been pulled off an active undercover job in Folkestone had been called out to deal with four men in balaclavas who had allegedly been parked outside the hunt kennels.

"They instead were met with a male and female Sab trying to have a cup of coffee and a biscuit in peace.

"They didn't want to be filmed as they were on undercover duties, to which we respectfully agreed.

"Towards the end of our encounter they even shook our hands before they left. This was of little comfort when during our brief detention we heard that one of our Sabs had been arrested for harassment.

"It turns out that one of our guys who we had left in the village to act as a spotter had somehow been singled out for arrest. We are not sure how or why our pensioner Sab got nicked.

"He was eventually released after 11 hours in custody with no charge and we were able to obtain this footage of his arrest.

"He was presenting no threat to anyone, he was over 60, not wearing a mask and certainly not the description of ‘four masked men’ the police were called about.

"We are now at the stage where we will be getting lawyers involved to oversee our interactions with Kent Police, past and present."

Police confirmed an arrest took place at 10.20am on Saturday.

A spokesman said: "Kent Police was called following a report that a vehicle containing three people wearing balaclavas had repeatedly been seen outside a property in Elham.

"Officers attended and spoke to those present. A 68-year-old man from west Kent was arrested on suspicion of harassment.

"Following investigation and a subsequent review of the available evidence, the man was later released without charge."

The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) was formed in 1963 and, despite hunting wild animals with hounds being banned since 2004, they claim that most hunts are carrying on as they did before the ban.

Known as the Sabs, the group says it uses non-violent direct action tactics to save the lives of thousands of hunted animals every season.

It describes itself as a "group of people dedicated to helping save our foxes and hares from being hunted and killed".

A spokesperson for the Countryside Alliance, a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside, said: “It is right that police take action to prevent saboteurs from blocking members of the public from carrying out lawful activity.

"Harassment must never be tolerated.

"It is important that the authorities respond to calls about this behaviour and activity, swiftly”.