Police force bars officers with hunting links from joining rural crime team after officer posts pictures of herself riding with a hunt as Chris Packham backs decision

A police force has banned officers with links to hunting from joining its rural crime team after an officer posted photos of herself riding with a hunt sparked protests.

PC Cheryl Knight's appointment to Wiltshire Police's rural crime team prompted uproar when anti-hunt protesters spotted photos on her Facebook page of her at both the Avon Vale and Beaufort hunts.

Scores gathered outside the police headquarters to protest at her new roleThe police force initially defended the appointment saying it is 'not illegal for someone working for a Police Force to be affiliated with a hunt organisation'.