Just 30 people have been charged for illegal hunting in the last 5 years (file picture)

Police have received 1,600 reports of illegal hunting in five years but have arrested just 83 people and charged only 30.

That means only 5% of complaints about breaches of the 2004 Hunting Act have led to legal action, Freedom of Information requests to police forces found.

They showed 51 arrests over hare coursing and just four for fox hunting. Figures did not reveal how many prosecutions succeeded.

Animal rights campaigners have repeatedly accused officers of failing to crackdown on allegations of huntsmen and women breaching the law.

The League Against Cruel Sports demanded more police action and a tougher law.

Campaigns director Chris Luffingham said: “These alarming figures indicate the sheer scale of brutal and illegal huntingactivity still taking place across the British countryside 13 years after the ban came into force.

“Foxes and hares are being literally torn to pieces by packs of hounds while exhausted deer are being chased for hours on end before being shot.

“The Mirror’s figures indicate that 95% of those allegedly hunting illegally get away with…