HUNDREDS of supporters turned out in Ottery St Mary to see off the traditional New Year's Day hunt.

An estimated 300 people came to the square in the town in what is the showcase event of the year for the East Devon Hunt.

And following what the organisers described as a "very successful day of trail hunting", hopes were raised that the coalition government would soon repeal the controversial hunting ban that was brought in by the Labour government in February 2005.

Lucy Wastenage , one of the joint hunt masters, said: "As a hunting community we are totally committed and determined to repeal the hunting ban. The election was a huge step forward for us and even Tony Blair has now come out and said introducing it was one of his biggest regrets.

"We are very confident that, within the five-year term of the current government, a reversal of the hunting ban will be brought forward."

As the crowds gathered, Ms Wastenage said there was no sign of any protesters and she claimed the community was fully behind their bid to make hunting with hounds legal again.

She said: "It was a very good turnout in the square with around 300 people. We probably had around 60-70 horses out and it was a very good day trail hunting. It was similar to the turnout we usually get and we always get a lot of people joining us on foot.

"There were no protesters but a lot of non-hunting people turned up to give us their support. It was nice to see so many people in such good spirits at the square.

"Obviously we were only able to trail hunt to stay within the law but our support is still as good, if not better, than it ever has been.

"This was a super way to start the new year. The Christmas hunts are our biggest showcase events of the year.

"There were people from all walks of life, from nurses and publicans to farmers and call centre workers. It is not an elitist sport anymore and everyone and anyone is welcome to come and join us."

The Boxing Day meet was cancelled due to the weather.

"Obviously that was a huge disappointment and very frustrating but our number one concern has to be safety." said Ms Wastenage. "It was just nice to be out hunting again."