YORKSHIRE huntsmen and women joined their colleagues across the country as they held their first meets of the new hunting season.

The York and Ainsty South Hunt was among about 200 who followed the hounds despite high winds and rain.

November 1 has long been the traditional start of the hunting with foxhounds season and the first meet is a major event for all hunts.

York and Ainsty South Hunt chairman Nick Proctor said: “It is very important in the hunting calendar. It’s the end of all the preparation and the training of the new puppies.”

About 60 people followed the hounds of the York and Ainsty (South) Hunt in the fields and villages around Appleton Roebuck on Saturday.

Conditions were better than at the start of last year’s hunting season when the ground was so wet and waterlogged, hunts had to be very careful not to damage the land.

This year, after a dry summer, the land is in much better condition, and huntsmen and women are looking forward to a good season.