A Welshpool pub has said it will not be hosting the Boxing Day hunt after an online backlash.

The Raven Inn in Welshpool said in a post on Facebook that it had decided not to host the hunt after the decision led it to receive angry comments – but said it had made its decision to reconsider after the issue was raised in a "kind, non-abusive way".

“We will not be hosting the hunt on Boxing Day," the pub said in the post.

"I’m sorry for the amount of anger that this has created and I’m personally sad about all the nasty comments that have been said between people on both sides of the argument.”

The Raven Inn had previously agreed to host the Boxing Day event, for an unnamed local hunt, but said that it had been swayed by a polite message from an anti-hunt group rather than the aggressive online furore.

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“The most compelling argument was from an anti-hunt Facebook page who simply asked us to reconsider in kind and non-abusive language," the post added.

"We were wrong, we have reconsidered and we will learn and move on. Merry Christmas.”

Earlier this year the Tanatside Hunt, which traditionally held its hunt in Welshpool on Boxing Day, announced it had disbanded citing “increasing urbanisation” of the area.

Its annual Boxing Day Hunt usually began its route in Welshpool and had become a recognised tradition in the town on Boxing Day, with crowds turning out onto the streets to watch the horses and hounds prepare to head across the countryside – although the attitudes between supporters and opponents of the hunt is notoriously fractious.