"The cane was rife and it wasn't just a lash on the back of someone's trousers - nine times out of 10 it was six across your knuckles that would make them bleed and, if you flinched or removed your hand, you would get six more, " he said.

BBC: Suffolk

Working in a two-man team, on opposite sides of the animal, packers sling a pair of manty-wrapped loads to the sides of a mule's aparejo and lay a 12-15-metre (40-50ft) lash rope gently across his creature's back.

ECONOMIST: New uses for an old pastime

Mr Holt was eventually handcuffed with his hands kept behind his back and brought up to an armchair - face down - so he could not lash out again.

BBC: Pc Neil Bowdery (left) and Pc Maurice Leigh