Staff at a sports club have claimed a gang of hunters are targeting foxes at night after a group was filmed on CCTV with a pack of dogs.

Footage from Elite Venue in Dunkirk Close, Gravesend, shows the group with dogs using torches in the grounds before they are seen running off on to the field.

Licensee Victoria Gillham called police on Sunday after she heard foxes scream while she was at work.

Similar activity is believed to have taken place outside the venue two days previously after it was spotted by another member of staff.

She said: “I was at work watching them and I felt sick. It made me too frightened to leave.

“I’m worried for my staff’s safety. I don’t want them going out there when these people are around.

“I’ve looked up what these people are doing and I don’t like it. It isn’t controlled, it just seems cruel.

“I don’t want these people to return.”

Security is being beefed up at the wedding venue and conference centre in an attempt to deter further visits.

Watch: The gang caught on CCTV with dogs and powerful torches

A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called at 10.49pm on Sunday, July 12, following reports of people acting suspiciously at a business premises in Dunkirk Close, Gravesend.

“The caller said she had been told that there were people on the grounds, but they were no longer there.

“When officers arrived they carried out an area search but did not find anyone. Safety advice was given to the caller.”

The incident took place just days before a proposed vote in Parliament to relax hunting legislation, which was delayed on Tuesday.

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