A primary school teacher has been sacked after an “upsetting” video of a woman punching and kicking a horse was shared online.

The video was posted by the local Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs group, who helped expose the incident happening outside the county as the RSPCA now look into it.

It showed a woman repeatedly slapping the animal when it ran into the road.

Although the incident happened outside of the county, the Hertfordshire-based group helped bring the video to light as it went viral over social media.

Now the Mowbray Education Trust in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, has announced that Sarah Moulds, 37, has been fired from her post.

Paul Maddox, the chief operating officer of the school, said: “I can confirm that Sarah Moulds’ employment with the Trust has been terminated.

“As a Trust we are committed to ensuring the best standard of education for all of our young people and we look forward to continuing this throughout the 2021/22 academic year and beyond.”

The woman had previously been removed from her voluntary position at her local branch at the Pony Club.

The Cottesmore Hunt also said a “thorough internal investigation” had meant a “follower will not participate in trail hunting” with them.

They previously said they “strongly disapprove” of the video of “one of our followers mistreating a pony”.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA described the footage as “really upsetting” and urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the charity on 0300 123 4999.