Catterick Beagle pack opened its hunting season at the weekend as members await a decision by the House of Lords on whether the sport will be banned.

Joint master Major Blair Radford said that if hunting was banned, the 26 hounds in the pack may have to be destroyed.

Brigadier Hughie Monro, president of Catterick Beagles, said that if the pack was abandoned because of a ban, it would be the end of a way of life.

He said: "It would be an enormous shame for the countryside if we lost this way of life and it would put a lot of law-abiding people in a very difficult situation.

"It is a sport we have all enjoyed for a long time, and suddenly that sport becomes illegal, which will undoubtedly put people in a difficult situation."

The pack has about 100 members, half of whom are local people and half military personnel.