THOUSANDS of North-East people whose livelihoods depend on hunting are expected to join the Countryside Alliance march in London on September 22.

Plans are already well advanced to cater for the 5,000-plus rural workers across the region who want to take part to try to make the Government listen to their fears if a hunting ban was enforced.

Three trains chartered by the alliance will pick up people at Newcastle, Durham City and Darlington, while scores of coaches will ferry others from more remote parts.

Yesterday, a registration hotline for the "Liberty & Livelihood" march was launched and already 10,000 people have pledged their intention to join.

In 1998, 280,000 people marched on the capital to oppose banning hunting with dogs. Four years later, the debate continues, leaving the lives of thousands of people who depend on hunting in the balance.

Shortly after the march, the Government expects to receive a comprehensive report by Lord Burns on the long-term effects of a ban.

Former master of the Zetland Hunt, Angie Vaux, now the Countryside Alliance regional chairman for the North-East, told the D&S Times that hopes were pinned on the report.

She said: "It is not only fox hunting that could be banned, it is hare coursing, beagling and any sport which uses dogs to hunt.

"The Government has pushed the decision back and back and people just can't get on with their lives.

"They can't look for another job while they still have a job to do and they can't plan for the future.

"Lord Burns' report is very comprehensive and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it makes the Government see sense."

Seventeen trains have been chartered nationwide and an expected 4,000 coach parking spaces will be secured in central London by September.

Eurostar has received requests from supporters in France and Belgium to lay on special trains for the day and most scheduled flights from Inverness, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh are block booked.

Supporters who registered for the 2001 march, which was postponed because of the foot-and-mouth crisis, are being urged to register again.

To register, call the hotline number on 0900 102 0900 open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm. Calls cost 60p per minute and cost a maximum of £1.80.

Supporters will receive a badge, march information pack and car sticker.

* Slogans threatening "rural rebellion" if a hunting ban comes into force have been daubed on motorway bridges in North Yorkshire. Three bridges on the A1 between Catterick and Leeming Bar have been hit in what is thought to be a county-wide campaign.

The group behind the slogans signs itself the Real Countryside Alliance, a militant group launched in London