HUNT masters said yesterday they had no involvement in the death of a fox at the weekend.

A spokeswoman for the Hurworth Hunt, based at West Rounton, in North Yorkshire, confirmed they were in the area, but said they were only trail hunting and exercising their hounds.

Police and the RSPCA are investigating after two witnesses said they saw hounds savaging a fox.

The first witness was a member of the public who reported to police that a fox was being killed by hounds near the A684 on Winton Bank, near Northallerton, at about 2.50pm on Saturday.

Killing foxes with dogs is now illegal under legislation introduced last year.

The second witness, a woman, said she had run over a fox in her car in that area and had then seen the creature being set upon by the hounds.

Experts from the RSPCA are now examining the remains of the fox in a bid to determine its cause of death.

Sarah Horner-Harker, joint master of the Hurworth Hunt, said they had spoken to the police at the scene.

"It was about a woman who had hit a fox in a car which is obviously nothing to do with us," she said. "We were not involved. All we know is that the police are investigating some incident. We are not 100 per cent certain what it is. Any hunting we have been doing has been within the law."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said yesterday that inquiries were ongoing.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA confirmed that a post-mortem examination was being carried out on the fox. She added: "We are assisting police in their ongoing investigation."

Any witnesses are asked to call police on 0845 60 60 247.