THOUSANDS of people lined the streets of Lewes for the return of a traditional fox hunting spectacle.

Around 100 riders and horses took part in the Southdown and Eridge Hunt meeting yesterday morning. The Boxing Day meet has been a tradition in the town for at least the last 70 years.

The meet comes shortly before the 10 year anniversary of the fox hunting ban. To bypass the ban, hunters in Lewes set trails using the smell of a fox on a sock, attached to a rope, which is then dragged along the ground.

At yesterday’s meeting, huntsmen and women gathered in Brook Street to unload their horses before assembling outside the White Hart pub in High Street.

The Boxing Day meeting is usually also attended by anti-fox hunting campaigners. A man was arrested two years ago after an alleged attack on a protester at the Boxing Day meeting in 2012.

A member of the Hunt Saboteurs Association also claimed somebody threw a brick at the window of his car at the same meeting two years ago.

But Mike Rummery, 49, from Uckfield, who watched the hunt with his family, said he did not see any trouble yesterday.

He said: “It’s the first year we’ve come and it’s been great. My wife has a few friends actually in the hunt group so we’re here to support them too.

“It’s been a good turnout with lots of people. I haven’t seen any trouble from campaigners so it’s been peaceful.”

Asked whether he supported abolishing the hunting ban, Mr Rummery said: “I think it’s best to leave the countryside alone as it is, so yes I would support getting rid of the ban.”

The Southdown and Eridge Hunt was formed in 1981 by the amalgamation of the Southdown Hunt and the Eridge Hunt.