A leading animal welfare charity is recruiting a team of investigators to take illegal hunts to court.

The League Against Cruel Sports plans to invest more than a million pounds over the next four years on hiring investigations staff and equipment to gather evidence and get hunts into court.

The league believes that the majority of hunts are flouting the law.

"This is the seventh hunting season under the ban, but all the evidence suggests that hunts are getting more lawless than ever." said Joe Duckworth, the league's chief executive.

"Appointing investigations officers around the country will enable us to increase our efforts in gathering evidence for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service."

The league employs retired police officers who review evidence and provide training on the Hunting Act to serving officers.

The league's Hunt Crimewatch service gathers information and intelligence on hunt related crime, and passes information to police forces and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

"Our focus is not only on the illegal hunting, but on all the crimes committed by the hunts," said Mr Duckworth.

"Hunts cause all manner of antisocial behaviour, from blocking roads, running hounds down railway tracks, and savaging pets in people's gardens. This pernicious side of hunting is often unseen but it has the biggest effect of people in rural communities."