MORE than 300 years of history came to an end on the misty slopes of the Blorenge mountain near Abergavenny yesterday.

Gwent hunt supporters said goodbye to their way of life - something anit-hunt protestors say is an act of cruelty - on the last day it was legal to hunt a fox with dogs.

On Wednesday, three senior judges in the Court of Appeal rejected a last challenge by the Countryside Alliance and hunt supporters that the Hunting Act was not valid.

That meant a ban on hunting finally came into force today.

For members of the Monmouthshire Hunt, yesterday was a poignant occasion.

For those opposed to hunting,today is a day they have been waiting for for decades.

For practical reasons, because of the remoteness of the farm on which they were hunting, narrow roads and short notice to get transport for horses, hunt organisers yesterday chose to go on foot.

Around 30 people met at Paul Jones' Upper Llanover Farm. Huntsman Matthew Hickmott fears he will soon lose his livelihood and his home because of the ban.

"It makes me worry for my future if we can't overturn this ban," he said. "Whatever we do now in the meantime is not going to sustain my living in the long-term. It's a way of life that will be lost.

"There are 300 years of breeding both in the hounds and probably the experience handed down by hunt staff."

The 31-year-old father of one lives at the hunt's kennels near Abergavenny.

He's been doing the job for 16 years.

He said: "It's a real rollercoaster of emotions at the moment, and to add to it, I've got a six-month-old child to worry about."

There were farmers and antique dealers, local labourers and the unemployed, all heading for the hill.

"It's very sad, I've been involved in the hunt since 1967, when I was a saddle and harness maker," said the hunt's host, Mr Jones, 60.

"The saddest thing about it is the fact that people say it's only the squire, when so many ordinary people are involved."

Hunt master Gary Yeomans said: "Obviously this is a very sad day - our last hunt before we can overturn this ridiculous law."

A meeting of the hunt is scheduled for tomorrow at Llanarth Village Hall at 11am.

Mr Yeomans said: "We'll be meeting as normal in full regalia, with horses and hounds.

"We'll be operating within the law - to show the full strength of feeling within Monmouthshire for the hunt."

And the Tredegar Hunt are due to do the same meeting at the Tredegar Arms, Bassaleg, at 11am tomorrow.

Anti-hunt groups were today gearing up to ensure the law, which came into force at midnight, is abided by.

The League Against Cruel Sports is now to write to the Attorney General making clear its expectation that evidence of offences under the Hunting Act will lead to prosecutions without delay.

John Cooper, leading barrister and chairman of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "Just as the police have acknowledged their duty to investigate allegations of hunting offences, so we expect the Director of Public Prosecutions and the CPS to prosecute wherever there is clear evidence."