Supporters of hunting were last night faced with the greatest ever threat to their sport, as MPs voted in favour of a outright ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales.

The vote, by 387 to 174, sets up a pre-election battle in the House of Lords, where Tory peers have vowed to obstruct the progress of the Hunting Bill.

With most commentators expecting a General Election on May 3, the Bill will need to clear the Lords swiftly in order to achieve Royal Assent before Parliament is dissolved.

But Tory leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, warned yesterday that it had little prospect of making it on to the statute book in the current session.

"When the Bill reaches the House of Lords, it will be subjected to the same scrutiny as any other Government Bill," he said before the vote.

"No Bill, not even the shortest and least controversial one, can normally pass the Lords in less than six to seven weeks from when it leaves the Commons.

"That means that if there is an election called for April or May this Bill has no chance of becoming law, for timing reasons alone. Tony Blair knows that."

Last night's vote for a ban followed resounding defeats for a proposal to maintain the status quo and a so-called "middle way" option to allow hunting to continue by introducing regulations to make it more humane.

News of the votes was greeted with cheers by jubilant opponents of hunting who had gathered outside Parliament, and with anger and despair by pro-hunting demonstrators who had been holding a round-the-clock vigil.

All parties granted their MPs a free vote on the issue. The debate was held in the absence of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was in Belfast for talks on the peace process. His spokesman said he would have voted for a ban if he had been present.

The votes followed a day of protest, as huntsmen gathered at meets across the country in a show of defiance against the threat of a ban.

During the debate, Tory home affairs spokesman David Lidington denounced the proposed ban as "illiberal and intolerant".

He argued: "It would harm individual freedom, without benefit to animal welfare. It would involve powers and penalties which are out of all proportion to the alleged problem."

But Labour's Michael Foster, who tried unsuccessfully four years ago to ban hunting through a Private Member's Bill, insisted this was the only "consistent and principled" option. "Hunting with dogs is cruel and unnecessary and it's time this practice was stopped," he said.