HUNT supporters from Dorset were caught up in bloody clashes as demonstrations turned ugly in London.

Dozens of members from the South Dorset, Cattistock and Portman Hunts were involved in violent outbursts between police when they descended on Parliament Square to protest against the controversial bill to ban fox-hunting.

Kate Lovelace, 28, an insurance worker, from Piddlehinton, today told how she was hit in the face with a police truncheon while trying to escape the scuffle.

She was left bleeding from a cut on her face after the rally and suffered bruising and a fat lip.

The trouble flared in late afternoon as up to 20,000 hunt supporters joined in a rally while MPs debated a ban in the House of Commons and a gang of activists later broke through security to confront MPs inside the Commons.

Miss Lovelace, a member of the South Dorset Hunt, was about to leave the rally when she was hit.

She said: "It was tense and tempers were flaring. There was a scuffle and a line of policemen ran forward. We got out of the way. Then a second wave came behind them.

"We were surrounded by a ring of policemen and were trying to push our way back out of the trouble. As I was trying to get out of the way a policeman hit me straight in the face with his truncheon."

She was taken to hospital and received stitches to the wound on her face.

Miss Lovelace added: "It's awful this should have happened. I'm not someone who ever breaks the law but we would do anything to preserve our way of life.

"Some police were heavy handed but some hunt supporters also over-stepped the mark."

She believes The House of Lords will throw out the bill.

Andrew Cook, Portman Hunt master, told how he found himself right on the protesters' front line facing the police cordon in Parliament Square.

He said: "I tried to keep out of the way, but I had someone else's blood on my shirt.

"I think both sides got a bit excited and I believe some protestors from Dorset may have been injured, but it is difficult to know because they have all been taken away."

He added: "We are going to continue the protest for as long as it takes."

Stuart Gaulton, 36, from Blandford, said he was struck by police as he tried to protect another protester who was being hit with a baton.

Mr Gaulton, a member of the Portman Hunt in Dorset, suffered blows to his arm and a head wound.

As blood poured from his head and across his face, Mr Gaulton said: "There was some chap beside me who was getting a good caning so I grabbed the baton and I got hit across the arms maybe three times. The final blow was across the head. I do not know what sparked it all off, it was all a bit heavy handed.''

His friend Rosie Babington, 35, also from Blandford, said: ''We're not here to upset the police. If they have been told to batter us to death that is a Government issue. We're here because we've been forced to be here. This is the first time we are going to cause trouble but it is not the last.''

Charlie Watts, huntsman with the Cattistock Hunt, said: "We were on the green in Parliament Square.

"The Countryside Alliance organised speeches and some MPs came out.

"It was very noisy. There were about 20,000 hunt supporters and a few anti-hunt supporters as well.

"There was some pushing and shoving. As far as I could see there seemed to be some anti-hunt supporters letting off stink bombs and so on."

John Morris, of Sydling St Nicholas, a member of the Cattistock Hunt, was also at the rally.

He said: "I can understand how this got out of hand. We have done peaceful demonstrations and nobody has listened to us."

Major Reg Hanbury, was among 80 members of the South Dorset Hunt who travelled to London by coach yesterday (Wed).

He said: "We feel it's not right that MPs from other parts of the country decide on this. It's not democratic."

South Dorset MP Jim Knight was in the Commons when the protestors broke in and said the Speaker suspended proceedings as they were hauled away.

He added: "I was nearby when the sitting was suspended.

"We all tried to get back into the chamber to see what had happened but by then the protestors had been escorted away.

"The sitting was suspended for about 25 minutes in all."

Mr Knight said officials had told him that the protesters appeared to have arrived disguised in suits, which were later found discarded.

He added: "About 10 of them then put on hunting protest clothing but not all 10 of them made it inside the chamber.

"It appears to have been an extremely well organised stunt."

The government has indicated that any resistance to the bill when it goes before the Lords will be overruled with the use of the Parliament Act.Mr Knight signed an amendment to the proposed hunting ban to try and restrict its implementation not to two years but to one season for hunts to find homes for their dogs and to mitigate any effect on the rural economy.

He said: "I have also helped organise a horse endurance event at Lulworth on Sunday September 19 and it is events such as this which I hope will help support the equestrian industry once hunting is banned."