The incident occurred late on Monday on a main road in Zamora, an area some 250 kilometres (150 miles) northwest of Madrid.

“Nine Guardia Civil police officers were injured, six lightly and three seriously,” Nicanor Sen, the central government’s representative in the Castilla y León region told reporters.

Two demonstrators were arrested, said Sen, who summoned the protest organisers to express his displeasure over the “worsening violence” in the ongoing demonstrations.

Although he did clarify the nature of the injuries, provincial officials told AFP several officers had sustained broken bones.

They said there were incidents at nine locations in the area, with protesters blocking roads with burning tyres.

Farmers and stockbreeders have been staging protests across Spain since February 1st.

They have joined farmers from across Europe who have been protesting for weeks over rising costs, high fuel prices, red tape and competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union.

They are also angered by what they say are excessive environmental demands in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its forthcoming “Green Deal”.