WORCESTERSHIRE hunts are planning to bring dozens of working dogs to Westminster tomorrow to protest against an outright ban on hunting.

The Countryside Agency lobby is due to take place in Parliament Square during the Third Reading of the controversial Hunting Bill.

The Bill had originally allowed hunting to continue under a strict licence but was amended to an outright ban by anti-hunt MPs last week.

The legislation has now been re-examined by a Parliamentary committee and is certain to clear its final hurdle in the Commons in a vote tomorrow night.

But hunt supporters want to show the battle has only just begun and are due to mass 1,000 hounds, lurchers, terriers and gundogs outside.

The dogs would face being killed if the ban is enforced.

Campaigners want Peers to block the legislation, which will be sent to the House of Lords after the Third reading.

Ministers will then be put under huge pressure to ditch the Bill - rather than force it through using the Parliament Act.

Harassment

The demonstration will be backed by a campaign of public harassment of Government Ministers whenever they make an appearance anywhere in the country.

The Alliance is setting up a full-time unit with the task of organising the "hounding of ministers".

The unit will have responsibility for obtaining information on the whereabouts of Government figures and deploying instant protests.

It will aim to mobilise teams of demonstrators with as little as 10 minutes' notice.

Initially the targets will be Alun Michael, the Rural Affairs Minister who failed to win support for the licensing scheme, and Environment Minister Elliot Morley.

But the Alliance warned the protests could be extended across Government and even into the expected 2005 General Election campaign.

"We can get out more activists during an election campaign than any of the political parties," a spokesman said.

During last week's vote, City MP Mike Foster helped anti-hunt MPs to a 362 to 154 victory in favour of an outright ban. The county's Tory MPs opposed the move, along with Wyre Forest independent MP Dr Richard Taylor.