A Sussex police chief has warned officers will take action against fox hunters even though a ban has been given a low policing priority.

Assistant Chief Constable for Sussex, Nigel Yeo, the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) spokesman on public order, said: "It is entirely clear what the law says.

"It is eminently enforceable and we will enforce it."

In many cases, he said, police would investigate after complaints from the public.

Police chiefs have said enforcing the ban would be given a low priority and they have been backed by Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

Hunting will finally be outlawed across England and Wales on Friday after years of political controversy.

However, those who flout it may escape arrest according to internal documents from ACPO.

One memo said hunting had not been afforded high priority in the National Policing Plan.

ACPO also reminded senior officers that the new law "confers a power to arrest, not a duty".

Prime Minister Tony Blair has been keen to avoid a showdown with the pro-hunting lobby which has threatened a campaign of direct action in the run-up to the election.

Mr Clarke stressed that the policing of the ban was a matter for chief constables.

But he said: "If you look at the priorities police have to deal with - dealing with drugs, people trafficking and crime - I don't expect fox hunting to be very high on the priorities of any particular police force.

"What I do believe is that the police will be very sensitive in the way they address it."

A massive show of civil disobedience is expected next weekend with up to 400,000 supporters flocking to 270 hunts.

Potentially violent meets are to be categorised in the same way as football matches, according to the ACPO documents.

However, Mr Clarke played down the potential for trouble and said policing would be "proportionate and effective".