ARRESTS have been made as part of a police operation in response to the badger cull.

Several arrests were made in the past week as part of the joint operation between Gloucestershire and West Mercia Police in response to the DEFRA-managed badger cull.

On Tuesday, October 4, a 56-year-old man from Cheltenham was arrested on suspicion of assault and dangerous driving.

It relates to an incident on Thursday, September 15 at around 7pm, when officers received a report that a man working at a location near to Tewkesbury on the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire border, had been assaulted and a car driven at him.

The arrested man has been released on bail until a date in November.

Meanwhile a 46-year-old woman from Sheffield was arrested late on Tuesday, October 4, on suspicion of assisting an offender following an assault last Tuesday, September 27.

The assault happened following an altercation in an area near Tewkesbury. A man was hit on the forehead with a metal torch, causing a wound just above the eyebrow that needed stitches.

Officers are still carrying out inquiries to identify the man who committed the assault.

The woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has been bailed to return to police on December 8.

Finally, two women have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage to badger traps.

The 38-year-old woman from Stow-on-the-Wold and the 44-year-old from Kingham in Oxfordshire, were arrested today (Friday, October 7) at their homes.

It follows incidents at a farm in the North Cotswolds between 23 September and 1 October. They currently remain in custody.