Gates smashed and crops destroyed as farmers threatened by gangs hunting hares

Chris Edwards has been placing barriers like this massive tree trunk in front of the entrances to his fields - in a bid to deter hare coursers.

In the countryside west of the Welsh capital, farmers have a WhatsApp group to warn of suspicious vehicles and some have barricaded the entrances to their fields with concrete blocks and fallen trees.

"They're watching us - which is probably the most disconcerting part about it," said Chris Edwards.

He's seen gates "smashed off their hinges" and crops destroyed by trespassers illegally hunting hares with dogs. Neighbours have faced threats, "verbal and physical", when they've tried to intervene.

South Wales Police confirmed the Vale of Glamorgan was seeing an increase in hare coursing, and said the force was taking action.

Hare coursing is the pursuit of a hare with the purpose of making money through gambling

"It's a massive problem," said Edwards, a beef and sheep farmer from Colwinston.

"We're close to Cardiff, Bridgend, Swansea - there are good links to the motorway and A roads so people can travel here."

To access his own fields, the 45-year-old now has to use a JCB to move giant logs he's placed in front of the gates.

"It's got to the stage now that if we don't put a log like that in the gateway they force access. We've tried chains and padlocks but they get cut off.

"We've had vehicles ram gates and smash [them] off their hinges, and then when they leave... we have animals out on the road".

"Once we get into the autumn and we're planting for next year, they leave ruts in the ground and they're damaging the crops."

Vehicle tracks are clearly seen in this drone footage of one of Chris Edwards' fields

James Tudor of the local branch of farming union NFU Cymru warned of incidents where farmers had been "physically threatened" after approaching hare coursers on their land.

"We've had property damaged, windows of vehicles have been smashed, intimidation, all sorts of problematic behaviour," he said.

"Farming's in a tough place anyway at the moment and this is further strain."

The farming community had "a good relationship" with local police teams who he acknowledged were supportive.

"But we need a wider police presence... to get hold of these people as they're in the act."

South Wales Police was also "the only police force [in Wales] that doesn't have designated rural crime officers", he added.

Hare coursing is the illegal pursuit of hares by dogs, which are judged by how closely they can follow the twists and turns of the animal as it tries to escape.

But in recent years, a number of police