Scotland's Court of Session has rejected an 11th hour challenge to the Scottish executive's ban on hunting with hounds.

The Countryside Alliance's bid was rejected - meaning a ban on fox-hunting will come into effect at midnight tonight.

The rural group claimed that the Edinburgh administration had not put in place an adequate compensation for those affected by a ban.

They said that a ban on hunting would hit their incomes and challenged the legislation on the grounds that it contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.

But anti-hunt groups said the court had a duty to back the legislation, passed in the Holyrood parliament in February

"The Scottish people and the parliament have taken the view that fox hunting is a cruel and unnecessary activity," said Michael Hobday of the League Against Cruel Sports.