A ban on foxhunting will provoke retaliation from some North-East landowners against Government use of their properties, one of the region's major estate-holders warned last night.

But Duncan Davidson, who holds the 21,500-acre Lilburn Estate near Wooler in North Northumberland, said it was too early to start disrupting organisations such as the Army in the wake of the Animal Welfare Bill being rushed through the House of Commons.

His comments came as angry farmers elsewhere in Britain vowed to ban vital military manoeuvres from their land in protest against the way the issue has been handled by Tony Blair and his supporters.

Pro-hunt campaigners in mid-Wales say the long-standing and informal gentleman's agreement with the Ministry of Defence will end, should the Government push its promised legislation through the House of Lords.

It is thought Labour will invoke the seldom-used Parliament Act to circumvent the upper chamber, which has traditionally been a last bastion in Westminster for the hunting lobby.

Mr Davidson, chairman of Newcastle housebuilders Persimmon Homes - the UK's third-largest property developer - predicted that action would be inevitable if hunting was outlawed in such a way.

"Some are slightly jumping the gun, because we have not yet got a ban in place," he said.

"Some people seem to think it's a foregone conclusion, but we must remember that it has only gone through the Commons.

"It will certainly be thrown out by the Lords. If Blair uses the Parliament Act to force it through, then we will make a judgment, and that's when I believe there will be retaliation from landowners."

He said that although the Army had not trained on his own land for a number of years, any future exercises would be open to review pending the outcome of the Bill.

"We would have to consider it, given the circumstance we find ourselves in," he said.

Ken Jones, who has 800 acres at Bylchau Farm in Wales, is one of those ready to turn his back on the agreement.

"To some extent the Army is caught in the cross-fire, because farmers have no argument with them," he said.

The Army uses a tremendous amount of private farmland for their manoeuvres and rural communities have always got on well with them.

"People feel very strongly, and if the Government goes ahead with this legislation, that will be the end of military manoeuvres around here.

The Farmers Union of Wales says Mr Jones is just "one of scores" in mid-Wales ready to tear up the agreement.

An MoD spokesman said: We are aware that some farmers have decided to refuse to give permission to use their land for training. At the moment it is too early to assess the impact the loss of opportunity will have."