THOUSANDS of North-East pro-hunt supporters have pledged to go to jail rather than give up the sport.

Mass meetings were held around the country this weekend by the pro-hunting lobby and more than 36,000 people signed a Hunting Declaration pledging to break the law if hunting is banned.

In Tony Blair's constituency of Trimdon Village, County Durham, traffic came to a standstill as hunts from throughout the region united to make a stand against the proposed ban.

More than 2,000 people, many on horseback, gathered in a field on the edge of the village on Saturday morning in a show of strength to the Prime Minister, their local MP.

Among them was John Jackson, chairman of the Countryside Alliance, who warned that if the Hunting Bill was passed, thousands of law-abiding citizens would end up in court.

He said: "This is a very personal decision for anyone to take.

"They must take it for themselves without being subjected to any kind of influence by the Countryside Alliance or anybody else.

"However, the alliance has made it clear that it will honour the integrity of such a person by supporting them at the time of their trial.

"In promising this support, the alliance is not placing tanks on the Government's lawn. It is doing what it believes to be morally right."

In another protest meeting at Birdsall, near Malton, North Yorkshire, more than half of the 4,000 hunt members who turned up signed the declaration pledging to break the law.

"The declaration shows how far people are prepared to go to carry on their way of life," said Gilda Brader, joint secretary of the Middleton Hunt.

Anti-bloodsports groups have condemned the huntsmen and women for pledging to face jail if the Bill becomes law.

Chairman of the Campaign to Protect Hunted Animals, Phyllis Campbell-McRae, said: "This latest stunt by the pro-hunt lobby to encourage people to break the law is highly irresponsible and completely out of step with public opinion," she said.

"It is abhorrent that some hunters are prepared to commit a crime in order to practise their barbaric sport.