A man killed in a hunting accident is to have his final wish granted when his beloved dogs lead the way at his funeral.

Hundreds of mourners, some from as far away as Ireland and Scotland, are expected to pack St Oswald's Church, Guiseley, tomorrow to pay their final respects to Jason Dent.

The 33-year-old from Yeadon died last Sunday in Cumbria during a shooting trip with a friend.

The pair were hunting rabbits near Appleby and it is thought Mr Dent's shotgun went off accidentally while he was trying to grab hold of one of his dogs.

His widow, Isobel, 27, said her husband of 18 months - who has an 11-year-old daughter, Lisa, from a previous relationship - had lived for his dogs and hunting.

And tomorrow, as his coffin is carried to the doors of the church - where the couple married in 1998 - it will be preceded by his beloved dogs.

A friend of Mr Dent will lead his lurchers Gess, Fin, Thi and Boss and terrier Nip as his body is brought into the church. Fin, Nip and Thi were with him at the weekend.

And the dogs - travelling in Mr Dent's red pick-up truck - will lead the funeral cortege itself.

En route to the church from Yeadon the funeral procession will pause on Otley Chevin, one of Mr Dent's favourite spots.

Mrs Dent said: "We'd talked about what we wanted if anything happened to either of us and this was something he specifically asked for.

"He was a hunting man through and through - he idolised his dogs and wanted them to be with him at the end.''

The funeral starts at 10.30am and is to be followed by a service at Rawdon Crematorium at 11.30am.

Mrs Dent said Gess and Fin would stay with her following the funeral while the other three dogs are to be given homes by her husband's friends and will continue to hunt.

Meanwhile a collection in aid of the Countryside Alliance and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation is to be made in Mr Dent's memory.

l An inquest into Mr Dent's death has been opened and adjourned but police are not treating it as suspicious and have described the incident as a ''tragic accident''.

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