DEFIANT hunt supporters in West Devon say they will flout any new law banning hunting with dogs, following last week?s majority vote in the Commons.

Hundreds of hunting enthusiasts from the area travelled to London last Wednesday to attend the massive demonstration in Parliament Square, during which protests became heated and scuffles with police broke out.

Guy Morlock, master of Spooners and West Dartmoor Hunt, said last week?s demonstration was mainly peaceful ? but he predicted far more heated events if the Government insisted on forcing the bill through.

?We are reasonable people but the Government has chosen to totally ignore any reasonable debate. Frustrations are beginning to boil over in all directions now ? the gloves are coming off,? he said.

Mr Morlock said Spooners would ignore a ban ? and he warned that nationally, protesters could ?literally bring the country to a standstill? if the Government persisted on forcing through the bill, when it should be concentrating on more important issues like pensions, health or education.

?I am not in favour of causing massive disturbances but the Government should be in no doubt it could happen ? we have got public sympathy about this,? said Mr Morlock, whose house and job depend on hunting.

?I do worry about my job and house and it?s got to the crunch now, but I?ve got no desire to move ? why should I, for the sake of political expediency??

Spooners committee is due to meet this week to decide their next moves in the light of the current situation.

Michael Bickell, chairman of Lamerton Foxhounds, said last week?s demonstration was ?moving and peaceful?.

?A lot of MPs came out and spoke to us, I felt from the bottom of their hearts really, even some Labour MPs. They were absolutely disgusted with their colleagues doing what they were doing. ,It was genuinely heartfelt that this was an unjust law, being pushed through in a most unusual way.?

Mr Bickell said Lamerton Hunt would continue its business as normal, despite what was happening in the corridors of power, and that the three people employed by the hunt would continue to work as usual.

?We feel that because it?s an unjust law, it will eventually be thrown out and we intend to keep on hunting,? said Mr Bickell, who extended a personal invitation to any MP to come and see what hunting was all about.

?I would personally like to meet them face to face, explain what goes on, invite them to our meet and see what sort of people we are. We don?t want any unrest, we just want to get on with living our lives in the country way,? he said.

But Peter Anderson, West Devon-based spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, condemned predictions of civil unrest.

Mr Anderson said: ?I think the scenes of violence at last week?s demonstration were disgraceful and any responsible pro-hunting group ought to condemn this sort of thing out of hand. Whatever anyone?s views on hunting, there is no justification for violence or the attempt to hold up the democratic process.?

Mr Anderson said every reputable independent opinion poll had revealed the ?vast majority? of people supported a ban on hunting ? but did not consider it high on their list of priorities.

?I?m afraid the game is up for the hunting lobby ? and they know it,? he said.

The hunting bill was formally presented to the House of Lords last Thursday, although it will not be debated until October, after the party conference season has concluded. The Government?s decision to use the Parliament Act to force the bill through, whatever the opposition voiced by the Lords, means the bill is likely to become law in mid-November, on the last day of the Parliamentary session.

However, it is not likely to be implemented immediately. It could be delayed until Summer 2006, giving hunts time to adjust ? but if the peers, the majority of whom oppose a hunting ban, fail to support the bill and its built-in delay, the law will come into force in mid-February next year.