Five Wigan men arrested after Lancashire Police respond to reports of poaching in Coppull
Five suspected poachers were arrested in Coppull after thermal scopes, hunting lamps and call whistles were found inside a car.
Police responded to reports of poaching in the Coppull area in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Officers subsequently stopped a vehicle on Bradley Lane in Standish.
A number of items including thermal scopes, hunting lamps and call whistles were discovered and seized as well as the vehicle under the Hunting Act 2004.
Five men, aged between 18 and 37, from the Wigan area were all detained for wildlife offences.
Operation Galileo is a national operation to tackle hare coursing and poaching co-ordinated by The National Wildlife Crime Unit.
The principal purpose of the Act is to criminalise certain forms of hunting of wild mammals with dogs, but it is wider than that and includes specific offences relating to hare coursing.
You can find out more at: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/hunting-act-2004