FREEZING weather put a stop to the annual Cheshire Hunt on Monday – but Tarporley residents still got a look at the horses and hounds.

Onlookers braved the sub-zero temperatures outside the Swan Hotel in Tarporley to watch 20 huntsmen parade horses up and down the High Street.

And although the weather was too bad for the horses to go any further, it was an improvement on last year, when the frozen conditions were too dangerous for the horses to be let out at all.

The hunt was scheduled for December 27 this year because Boxing Day, its traditional spot in the calendar, fell on a Sunday.

Cheshire Hunt member John Levenson said: “The day was a great success despite the cold. The Swan Hotel was as usual very generous and everyone had lots of fun.”

Residents in Malpas braved the cold and turned out for the village's annual Boxing Day Wynnstay Hunt.

But the icy conditions meant that for another year, the horses and hounds could only parade instead of going out to hunt.

However, Wynnstay Hunt secretary Anthony Anson said that despite this, the day was a great success:

“It was frustrating that the weather had to set us back but everyone made the best of it and it was a great day.

“We had a fantastic turnout, over a hundred residents came to have a look.”

Local pubs were on hand to provide port and mince pies to locals, and Santa took a break from his busy schedule to hand out lollipops.