I went for a walk in the countryside at my favourite beauty spot, the Long Man at Wilmington.

I was horrified to see someone had burnt the words "NO BAN" into the hillside.

Do simple country folk actually believe they own the countryside and all in it just because they are lucky enough to live there?

This act of vandalism only demonstrated to me what I already knew, that pro hunters are disrespectful, ignorant and selfish members of a society the nature of which they are woefully out of touch with.

Countryside people may have forgotten that just three or four generations ago we (those of us of peasant descent) all needed to live on the land for our survival.

Now we can only dream of living outside of the towns we are economically chained to. They may have forgotten but I have not.

The industrial revolution took the country away from many people who love it dearly and placed it in the hands of people who display little spiritual connection with our land and who still seek to dominate the natural environment rather than exist within it in sympathy with its natural rhythms.

My mate reckoned we should have tried to change the slogan to "SNOB BAN".

I agreed but could not bring myself to commit an act of vandalism that would make me as bad as them.

-Aimee Blackman, Brighton