“What a damp squib! Rita, or Margaret, or whatever her real name is, spent five weeks organising a protest at Kinsley. They had a grand total of 40 people here including schoolkids. It does make you wonder whether CAGED supporters are finally realising that they are being conned.”

Kinsley promoter John Curran was delighted that a police presence ensured that the animal rights protest went off almost without hitch – though he did receive a visit from the local community beat officer on Sunday morning following a complaint.

He said: “Because the protestors could not park on the stadium carpark, they decided to park their cars beside the road between the stadium and a local estate. I was told by the policewoman that several of them had been scratched along their sides, despite the presence of a police van just a few yards away. She wanted to know, if I had any idea on who was responsible.

“I have to be honest, I am not that surprised. You get a load of protestors come into a village with a tradition of greyhound racing since 1939, where the stadium employs 64 people, and think the locals will just put up with it.

“As I said to the policewoman, who knows the area, ‘would you park your car there?’. She admitted she wouldn’t. I wouldn’t park my car there and I have lived in the village all my life

“Actually, I think the protestors were lucky it was a light night. If it had been dark, those cars would all have ended up on bricks.

“Greyhound racing has finally started to ask the supporters of groups like CAGED, who actually care about welfare – do you really think that you are supporting a welfare ‘charity’ likely to improve conditions for greyhounds? Or are you supporting a personal enterprize run by the Yarwoods?

“Think about it. How much did the digital billboard in the middle of Leeds cost them? This is a city that hasn’t had a dog track since the 1970s. Is that really going to end greyhound racing? It simply isn’t going to happen.

“Do CAGED really want money for supposed ‘welfare’, or do they want donations to raise more donations?”

The full board