MORE than 300 campaigners joined a peaceful protest in Winsford against fox hunting.

People from all walks of life, aged from six months to 81, mounted a four hour demonstration outside Cheshire Police HQ yesterday.

Protestors said there was a good natured atmosphere as a Foxy samba band played music and vegan doughnuts were sold in aid of a local wildlife hospital.

Police and crime commissioner David Keane spent more than an hour talking to campaigners and seeking their opinions.

Co-organiser of the protest Jane Smith, deputy leader of the Animal Welfare Party, said: "We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to spend four hours in the cold yesterday peacefully protesting for real action against fox hunting in Cheshire.

"It was a beautiful feeling to have 400 people coming out to stand in solidarity with the persecuted wild animals of the Cheshire countryside, and we also had constant support from passing drivers beeping their horns.

"We're asking for the hunting ban to be strengthened so that the police can properly do their job of arresting those involved in fox hunting and bringing them to justice.

"Fox hunting has been illegal since 2004 and the hunting ban is still one of the most popular laws ever enacted in this country - yet it goes on every week throughout the season, across Cheshire, in blatant disregard of the law.

"It's simple: we're asking for the law to be upheld against fox hunting and if that means strengthening the hunting ban, then that's what we need to do."

A spokesman for Cheshire Monitors, who also supported the protest, said: "We need to raise awareness that the Hunting Act needs to be strengthened so that the police can do their job."