In Staffordshire, three activists wearing baseball caps and hoodies arrived on a farm in a white van with the number plates removed.

They were verbally abusive to farmworkers and used camera phones to record the incident.

Staff on the dairy farm had previously received guidance from its milk processor about dealing with this type of incident.

The farmer reported it to the police by dialling 101, but has been advised in future to call 999 in regard to issues relating to trespass.

This is believed to be an isolated event, and not connected to larger ongoing animal rights protests being orchestrated by anti-livestock farming group Animal Rising.

A spokesperson for Animal Rising said the incident in Staffordshire was not connected to the organisation, although the group did take responsibility for a separate event in Dorset on 19 May.

Dorset protest

On that occasion, about 30 protestors from Animal Rising staged a six-hour sit-in on the Dorset dairy farm.

Animal Rising said it was trying to create a national conversation rather than targeting specific dairy farms.

The activist group stated that it tried to build a dialogue with employees on the farm, and aims to be disruptive, but not violent.