HUNDREDS of hunt supporters from across the Cotswolds took part in a mass protest outside the Houses of Parliament last week.

Coachloads of hunt staff and supporters travelled to London to take part in the demonstration which was timed to coincide with the first reading of a new Government hunting bill, giving MPs the option to vote for an outright ban, strict regulatory controls and licences or voluntary regulation.

The Chipping Norton-based Heythrop Hunt cancelled its regular Wednesday hunt to allow many of its 736 members to join the protest in London.

Hunts across the region are now stepping up their campaign to kill off the bill and their confidence is growing with thousands of people expected to join a major demonstration in London in March.

Heythrop supporter Nicky Driver said: "There is a tremendous amount of support and it is just doubling everyone's resolve. Hunt subscriptions are up and we are seeing a lot more people coming out hunting."

She added: "There is a cloud of gloom hanging over the hunting community, but it is a really exciting time because this generation has a chance to safeguard it for the future."

Farmer Glyn Pearman said the Heythrop alone had the support of some 900 farmers from Moreton and Stow into West Oxfordshire.

He said: "The Government is playing games with traditions and with jobs for political expediency. Foxhunting has a beneficial influence on rural conservation."

The Heythrop fears that if hunting is banned it will have to lay off its own 10 employees, while another 20 jobs dependent on business from the hunt and its supporters would also go. Mr Pearman said it contributed £300,000 to the north Cotswold economy and about £2.3 million indirectly. As a farmer he said he relied on the hunt to collect fallen livestock, which it takes to feed to its 166 hounds. He said that if farmers had to pay for the removal of stock, the cost could force some out of business.

The hunting row in Chipping Norton has come to national attention since the town's MP, Shaun Woodward, defected to the Labour Party. He has voted against a hunting ban in the past, but has now said he will vote in favour of a ban. His change of heart has been condemned by the town's Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate, David Cameron, who said: "This is a highly cynical move. As an MP he claimed to support the right of people to take part in country sports. Now he is looking for a Labour seat he has changed his mind."