A VOTE to outlaw hunting with hounds may spell the end for the country's oldest hunt.

Members of the Holcombe Hunt -- which dates back to 1304 -- say that any outright ban will mean the end of a whole way of life.

However, anti-hunt campaigners say that huntsmen will have no difficulty in making the switch to alternatives.

Bury North MP David Chaytor was one of those who voted for the Hunting Bill, which now goes before the House of Lords.

His Bury South colleague, Ivan Lewis, was not present for the vote, which ended 356 to 166 in favour of a ban.

The Government says that, if peers refuse to sanction the bill, the Parliament Act will be invoked to force it on to the statute books.

The joint master of the hunt, Alex Sneddon, who manages the hunt's Kirklees Valley kennels, said the bill was a threat to his own livelihood. He said: "Everybody thought that this might happen so it is no great surprise, but for many workers it will mean no home and no job. That's not as serious for myself as it is for those at the younger end.

"We're not London high-flyers, working with the hounds is our way of life."

However, he added that the issue had still to be resolved.

"The right to hunt has not been taken away yet, and a week is a long time in politics," he said.

The vote has been welcomed by the North West League Against Cruel Sports, who campaign principally against the Holcombe Hunt.

Spokesman Gregg Metcalfe said a transition to drag hunting, in which dogs follow a scent rather than a fox, would be possible.

He said: "We are absolutely delighted that the Government has finally outlawed hunting and we believe that hunts like Holcombe will have no difficulty in switching to drag hunting. A lot of the land used by the Holcombe Hunt is more than suitable for that purpose."

Mr Chaytor said he had the support of his constituents in voting for the ban.

He said: "The polls consistently show that the public are opposed to fox hunting by three to one. People can carry on hunting, they just won't be allowed to hunt foxes or deer with dogs.

"There has been minimal disruption to rural life in Scotland since it was banned there, so the scare stories about lost jobs and shooting dogs are out of all proportion."

Regarding the House of Lords, he added: "It is right to use the Parliament Act on this -- not because it's a matter of crucial international significance, but to assert the supremacy of the democratic chamber as opposed to the appointed one."