AB FAB JENNIFER JOINS 'FOX HUNT'

Ab Fab star Jennifer Saunders has joined a hunt accused of illegally chasing foxes.

She was snapped riding with the Mid-Devon Hunt just eight days after cops launched a cruelty probe.

Police acted when the hunt was reported to have pursued a fox with 20 hounds - TENtimes the legal limit.

Animal welfare campaigners condemned Jennifer for riding with the Mid-Devon - though there's no suggestion she was involved in any illegal chase.

And they claimed the hunt regularly flouts the law that bans fox-hunting with hounds.

Under current rules, two dogs are allowed to flush out a fox, which can then be shot.

More can only be used if riders are following a chemical scent - a sport called trail-hunting.

ButPaul Tillsley, of the League Against Cruel Sports said: "We've had so many reports of this hunt wilfully breaking the law that on December 18 I went to watch for myself.

"As soon as they left they were chasing a fox with at least 20 hounds - it was blatant.

"When hunts talk about trailhunting it's almost always a cover for illegal activity.

"Everyone involved in hunting - including Jennifer Saunders - should understand that."

Jennifer, 48, was seen with daughter Freya, 17, at the Mid-Devon's Boxing Day meet - advertised as a trail-hunt - in Chagford, Devon.

Asked about the illegal chase claims, the French & Saunders' star said: "I don't break the law - we simply follow a scent.

"It's up to the police to enforce the law and I don't have a view on whether they do or don't."

Speaking at the £2million Dartmoor home she shares with comedian hubby Ade Edmondson, 49, she added: "I hunted as a child and started again recently. I don't want to be rude but I'm not prepared to say any more."

Mid-Devon boss George Lyon-Smith confirmed Jennifer was a member of the hunt.

He said riders DID chase a fox on December 18 - but were NOT law-breakers.

He claimed it only happened because the fox appeared as the hounds were following a prepared trail.

He said: "You can't change 300 years of breeding overnight."

Police confirmed they had received a complaint about it.