Sir.-I am sad to see that the bill to ban fox hunting is, again, set to be forced upon us.

One aspect that those Labour MPs who oppose hunting have not taken into consideration is the character-building and sense of adventure that it provides for the young.

I would like to illustrate this. Last February I was hunting with the Vine and Craven Hunt and the weather was terrible.

We were being blown from one county to another, and the rain was coming down like stair rods.

At that point I was surrounded by seven children aged between eight and 12. They were tired, cold, hungry and wet through, yet no murmur of complaint did I hear. Instead they were full of joy, courage, excitement and adventure.

One of the little girls turned to me and said "Please tell my mum to back off". I looked down the line and saw her mum trying to get her to go home - at that moment we set off again, with the children leading.

In an age where TV, computers and obesity rules, why ban one of the most healthy ways of instilling courage, leadership and a sense of adventure in the young?

-Ian Doulton, Tunworth, Basingstoke.