THE ancient practice of hill farming is on the brink of collapse, a report by The National Trust says.

The trust, which looks after about 150,000 hectares of upland, said the majority of hill farmers were facing a severe fall in income because of reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

It said some would have support payments halved over the next five years and be driven out of business as a result.

Upland hill farming largely takes place from the Lake District to the Yorkshire Dales and is said to be responsible for maintaining some of the region's most spectacular landscapes.

Last month, the National Farmers' Union in the North-East called on the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and Northumberland National Park authorities to support a campaign to secure the future of hill farming.

It has set up a working party of local farmers and is also urging a debate over the future of some subsidies.

NFU regional director Richard Ellison said: "Hill farmers across Yorkshire and the North-East manage more than 1.7 million hectares of land, 350,000 of which are in one of the national park areas.

"The stunning landscape that underpins our thriving regional tourism industry is not there by chance, it is there largely due to generations of farming activity. If we want to maintain that, we need upland farming to remain viable."

Many hill farmers were badly hit by the foot-and-mouth outbreak, while recent severe floods affected upland areas of North Yorkshire.