A HUNT master has welcomed the support of his local MP after the politician visited his kennels yesterday.

Richmondshire MP William Hague called in to see the Wensleydale Foxhounds, near Hawes, North Yorkshire.

The 40-hound fell pack, which is followed on foot rather than horseback, faces a bleak future after the Government moved to ban hunting with dogs.

Master of the hunt Maurice Bell has been hunting the moors around upper Wensleydale for the past 30 years.

He said: "Mr Hague is our local representative and this visit shows he's interested in what's going on.

"He realises how stupid the Government's plans are."

The huntsman plans to keep his hounds after the ban on February 18.

Mr Bell said: "These hounds are my life and I'll keep them and hope the law changes back. They are part our family and I don't like to leave them. I've only ever had one holiday, to Derbyshire, in my life - and I came back with pneumonia.

"We provide a service to farmers. If you have a fox worrying sheep up here on 20,000 acres of fell, guns are no good."

Tory MP Mr Hague has previously said the ban on hunting was based on "prejudice, ignorance and naivety."