A COUNTY Durham farm and tourist attraction has won national acclaim.

Hall Hill Farm, near Lanchester, has scooped a top prize as the National Farm Attraction Network Farm of the Year.

The award was presented by Lord Henley, Government spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

This is the second accolade in recent months for the farm, as it was also named Best Tourism Experience of the Year at the North-East England Tourism Awards.

Hall Hill Farm, which opened in 1981, employs up to 50 people and welcomes about 60,000 visitors every year.

Visitors can bottle feed lambs and get close to children’s favourites, such as guinea pigs and rabbits, as well as enjoy a tractor or donkey ride.

Hall Hill Farm will reopen for the tourist season during half-term, from Saturday until Sunday, February 27, from 10.30am to 4pm. It will then be open every weekend until April, from when it will be open daily.