FARMERS were still debating last night whether to press ahead with their day of traffic chaos after the Government announced a relaxation of the controversial 20-day rule.

Angry farmers - many facing facing ruin because of the standstill rule - were threatening to drive their tractors and trailers along the region's roads at peak times to bring traffic chaos in a nationwide protest on Monday.

But last night, Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley bowed to pressure and announced changes to the rule.

From the beginning of September, sheep and cattle brought on to a farm for breeding will no longer trigger a 20-day standstill of all animals, as long as the breeding stock is in isolation.

But the current restrictions - brought in during the foot-and-mouth crisis - on moving animals susceptible to disease are set to remain until the end of November.

County Durham sheep breeder Bill Wearmouth, who is national treasurer of the National Sheep Association and has been involved in close talks with Agriculture Minister Lord Witty, said: "This latest move is going somewhere down the right road.

"But it is far from being the perfect solution and there is still a very long way to go."

Mr Wearmouth, who farms at Eastgate, in Weardale, said that he and other farmers in the dale would be meeting over the weekend to decide if they would continue with the day of protest.

Teesdale hill farmer Richard Betton welcomed the move, but said that some in the industry were still working with "one hand tied behind their back".

He said: "This is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough."

National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill, who farms near Easingwold in North Yorkshire, said: "This concession has been extremely difficult to win and follows in-depth negotiations.

"It must mark a renewed trust between farmers and Defra."