A protestor managed to evade police and ran onto the Epsom Derby racecourse a minute before the horses came sprinting past. The Animal Rising activity failed to disrupt the race however after police officers quickly tackled him to the ground and dragged him to the side of the track.

The man burst onto the tracks just after the race started at 1.30pm with bystanders heard shouting “get him off the track”. He was immediately carried away by police officers after being taken from the racecourse.

Minutes later, a woman attempted to climb the fence but was pulled to the floor by the police. Despite pledges by activist group Animal Rising to “cancel or severely delay” the Derby, the race continued as planned shortly after the protesters were carried away.

READ MORE:Police arrest 19 animal rights activists ahead of Epsom Derby planned protest

He was quickly tackled by the police and dragged from the racecourse

Observers described the situation as “ludicrous” and “absolute insanity” while others thanked police for putting a stop to the protests.

A primary school teacher and Animal Rising activist has said the police “abused their power” when they arrested 19 people ahead of the Epsom Derby. Louise Hillwood, who claimed she was wrongfully arrested prior to the coronation and released without charge, delivered a speech at a gathering of activists outside the Surrey racetrack as finely-dressed visitors filed in through the gates.

She said: “As long as there are industries where animals are being harmed like the horse racing industry, like when animals are exploited for food, for entertainment, for sports, there will be people who are willing to step in and use their bodies to put themselves between harm and the animals.”

Speaking afterwards, she described the arrests on Saturday morning as “police over-reach”. She said: “I do think it’s heavy-handed. These are peaceful protests. If I had to jump over a fence to protect an animal from harm, I would do that.

“What happened today with the 19 people arrested is an over-reach and an abuse of their power. We’ve seen this time and time again – it was just three weeks ago at the coronation where some 50 peaceful protesters were wrongfully arrested.

“This is just another example of that. I was attending a training day where we learn about non-violent protest. The police burst in, saying we were a different protest group and we were planning to disrupt the coronation, which was absolutely untrue.”

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