THE sound of horses and hounds will ring throughout the Worcestershire countryside on Saturday - despite hunting with dogs becoming illegal on Friday.

There will be eight hunt meets in the county and all are expecting massive turnouts to oppose the Hunting Act.

The Countryside Alliance is urging hunt supporters to "support freedom, support tolerance and support your local hunt."

Claire Rowson, West Midlands regional director, said she was expecting turnouts to be similar to Boxing Day when two county hunts welcomed around 2,000 people.

"Please come and join us on February 19 to support freedom and tolerance and oppose unnecessary political interference in the lives of ordinary people," she said.

She added each hunt would be legal and each individual meet would decide how to operate - either as a hound exercise or trail hunting (following an artificial but fox-based scent).

The news comes after Nicky Driver, director of the Countryside Alliance's Campaign for Hunting, told members at a meeting at Worcester Rugby Club last week to "go out and stick two fingers up at the Government."

"The hunting activity doesn't have to stop on February 17," she said.

"There's a massive difference to openly defying the law and pushing it to its boundaries.

"If you stop, the Government has won.

"It's vitally important that it doesn't disappear and that people turn up in force on February 19."

But a spokesperson for West Mercia police, who will be responsible for catching any illegal hunting activity in Worcestershire on Saturday, said: "We confirm that we will enforce legislation to uphold the law taking account of local and national policing priorities, we will protect public safety, and we recognise the right to peaceful and legal protest where appropriate."

The following meets are planned:

Clifton-on-Teme Hunt will meet at 11am at Woodmanton, Clifton-on-Teme; Cotswold North Hunt will meet at 10.45am at Broad Close Field, High Street, Broadway; Croome and West Warwickshire Hunt will meet at 11am at Croome Court, near Kinnersley; The Leadon Vale Bassets will meet at 12 noon at Barn Orchard, Berrow in Malvern.

The Ledbury Hunt will meet at 10.45am at Hurst Farm in Welland; The Warwickshire North Beagles will meet at 12 noon at Sutton Park House, Sutton, near Tenbury Wells; The Worcestershire Hunt will meet at 11am at the Point to Point Course in Chaddesley Corbett; and the Ledbury North Hunt will meet at Old Colwall House in Colwall.