POLICE arrested 25 people after animal rights activists stormed Ayr Racecourse ahead of the Scottish Grand National today.

A number of protesters from Animal Rising managed to make their way on to the racecourse in a bid to stop the £200,000 race, which was won by 4-1 favourite Kitty's Light.

Assistant chief constable Tim Mairs said they had "climbed under and over fences and made their way towards the track", but that a "prompt and professional response by stewards and Police Scotland" stopped any disputation to the event.

"Following this, there was a further attempt to disrupt a later race involving a smaller group of protesters," he said.

"Both incidents resulted in people being safely removed and no injuries have been reported.

"Overall, there have been 25 arrests so far across the day and inquiries are continuing."

The Ayr protest followed the death of horse Oscar Elite in the 13:50 race on Saturday.

Activists said they wanted to stop other horses from dying or coming to harm.

Animal Rising, which is seeking to highlight the exploitation of animals for sport and food, said it will continue with more race disruptions, alongside a series of farm occupations and animal rescues.

Ayr's managing director David Brown praised the swift action of the police and security teams on course.

He told the BBC: "The race went off to time, there was no notable delay and the professionalism of the team up here in Scotland was a credit to them, they dealt with it in a very efficient manner."

At the Grand National at Aintree last week, Merseyside Police rrested 118 people over disruption which saw nine people enter the course.