Animal right protests at Hillgrove Farm have cost the taxpayer a staggering £1.25m, a senior police officer has revealed.

Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable Robert Davies said the price of policing the cat farm, at Minster Lovell, Witney, had rocketed.

Mr Davies held a confidential meeting with county councillors, where he gave details of planned police operations. He showed video footage of violent clashes at the farm and said the cost of policing had topped £1.25m.

A police spokesman said today: "We are not going to give in to mob rule. This issue goes to the heart of British policing - to keep the Queen's peace."

Activists claim the cat-breeding centre, run by farmer Christopher Brown, is inhumane - a point never proved despite high-profile break-ins by protesters to free the animals.

There have been 190 arrests in the last 18 months and police have had to step up manpower in case protests get more violent.

The spokesman added: "We have had to reassess our police tactics but the organisers of the protests refuse to meet us."

A statement from Save the Hillgrove Cats said the police were acting as a private army for the farm. The next protest will be in mid-October.

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