The House of Lords has overturned a Commons decision to seek a complete ban on hunting with hounds.

Peers voted on Tuesday night to allow registered hunts to continue their activities - a move that has been opposed by MPs.

An amendment to the Hunting Bill was backed by 261 votes to 49, a cross-party vote that overturned the will of the Commons with a majority 212.

The vote has left parliament once again divided on the controversial issue and could lead to the government using the Parliament Act to force through a total ban on hunting.

But opposition peers have vowed to go down fighting and are confident that they can continue to frustrate the anti-hunt lobby.

Lord Strathclyde, the Tory leader in the upper house, said peers were reversing the "blind prejudice" of MPs.

He said the Commons ban, which went further than the government initially intended, would be unenforceable in the country.

"We have to make sure we produce something that is workable, enforceable and evidence-based, in contrast to what I think people see as the blind prejudice of the House of Commons and the duplicity of government," he said.

"I would have thought that many people around the country would regard so many other issues as being important, such as the complete failure of public services as something they should be concentrating on rather than deciding on issues of freedom and tolerance such as hunting."

Strathclyde also warned the government against using the Parliament Act to impose the will of the Commons.

"Many people will wonder what on earth parliament is for," he added.