An article in The Times set the scene:

The hare runs for its life, eyes bulging, ears flat, changing direction constantly in a bid to wrongfoot its pursuers. The dogs close in and leap onto their prey. A loud cheer goes up as the dogs tussle over the prize, which still seems to be alive. A group of middle-aged men jog across the field. One grabs the hare and appears to break its neck with a blow, dropping its body into a bin liner.

Should a small number of people still be allowed to legally inflict such cruelty for their own amusement?

Eyewitness Phil Pinder, visits what the Independent newspaper described as 'an annual bloodfest'.

Going to witness the abuse that occurs annually at the Waterloo Cup is an experience I would not recommend. I escaped relatively easily when the jobs were distributed at this year's Cup. I simply had to occupy a van we were using to edit and copy the film that the undercover investigators managed to take of the event.

Problems arose from the beginning when the van I was driving got stuck in the entrance to the car park, more commonly known as a field. I now had to acquire the help of the stewards to pull me out of the mud.

When I eventually got the van onto more stable land I decided to take a walk around the huge site. The first thing that was drawn to my attention were the different types of people, some were evidently very poor - trying to sneak in to save the cost of admission. Others shall we say, came from a different background - driving large cars like Bentleys and wearing fur coats.

The fate of the hare that I am to describe is typical of the ones that were caught on film over the three days at Britain's 'premier coursing event'. A nervous hare sprints into an open field watched by hundreds of cheering spectators. Moments later, two greyhounds are released and race after it, then one locks its jaws into the hare's hind legs.

The screams of the hare are audible as the greyhounds pull at the prize, which is tugged in pain like an old rag. A man eventually catches up with the dogs and retrieves the hare. He takes five attempts to break its neck, only then is it finally dead.

Not only did the films taken picture the slaughter of the hares, they also make clear the differences that occurred the day the government inquiry team visited in a desperate attempt to save their 'sport' from a ban by legislation.

Whilst Lord Burns and colleagues were present the hare was not given the usual 50 metre lead, known as the 'slip', but instead enjoyed a 120 metre and mainly escaped unharmed. The films show officials holding the dogs back, much to the annoyance of the jeering crowd who are desperate for the dogs to be released on time. The frustration of the crowd was expressed by yelling and swearing at officials to let the dogs go. Only two hares were chased to death whilst the inquiry team were present.

After Burns and colleagues left, footage was obtained of bookmaker Stephen Little, a big name in coursing circles and a main sponsor of the Waterloo Cup, appearing to take bets from young children. This footage was taken over the last two days and appeared to take place on several occasions.

When we informed Colin Pickthall MP, the Labour MP for West Lancashire and long time supporter of the League's work, he said: "It's no surprise to me the Home Office team were given a false picture of what happens. It is truly barbaric and really should be viewed in the same light as dogfighting and bear baiting.

"I was a guest with other MPs a couple of years ago and the same thing happened. We saw no hares killed but I later saw some footage of the coursing after we had gone and it was horrific. It simply does not belong in the twenty-first century."

The undercover footage shows hares being torn alive by dogs; hares pulled at either end like a tug of war rope; and coursers taking several attempts to finish off hares not killed by the dogs.

Ken Livingstone's visit to the Waterloo Cup ensured that we obtained a huge amount of publicity for our campaign to have the event banned. It would of course be covered under any ban on hunting with dogs. Ken told reporters "I did not like the cheer that went up when the hare was killed."

Charles Blanning, secretary of the National Coursing Club - an affiliate of the Countryside Alliance - said: "Our rules state the slip must be at least 80 yards and there were no differences or inconsistencies when Lord Burns was there."

Blanning said over the three days there were 108 courses and only 18 hares were killed. He added: "For the last seven years we have been told this is the last Waterloo Cup. I am confident there will be one next year, the year after and for many years after that." But the evidence compiled by the investigators debunks several claims made in the Countryside Alliance's submission to the Burns inquiry. Its document on hare coursing states: "There is strong evidence that these animals do not outwardly appear distressed when chased," and, "When a hare is brought down death is virtually instantaneous."

But the undercover footage shows hares being disembowelled alive by dogs; and coursers taking several goes to break the neck of a hare not killed by dogs.