AT THE official reopening of a fishing lake, which has become a big hit with the angling fraternity, you could reasonably expect aquatic species to steal the limelight.

But as farmer Colin Newlove proudly declared his four-acre lake open again in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis, it was death-defying Trevor the turkey who was the star turn.

Clever Trevor hit the headlines last year when he avoided a turkey's traditional Christmas fate by walking a farmyard tightrope and leaping through a hoop of fire.

Yesterday, Mr Newlove decided there was no better celebrity than Trevor to reopen the lake on his land at Low Marishes, near Pickering, North Yorkshire.

Trevor hitched a tractor ride before taking a boat trip on the lake, which reopens on Saturday after being shut for a year by foot-and-mouth restrictions.

Mr Newlove said: "There have been some grand weights caught in the lake over the years, and we have some beautiful species this time around."

The guest appearance comes as anglers across the region look forward to returning to reservoirs and rivers.

With the fishing season starting on Friday, thousands of rainbow and brown trout have been poured into Northumbrian Water reservoirs from Scaling Dam, in North Yorkshire, to Kielder Water, in Northumberland.

Experts are already predicting one of the best seasons ever for Northern anglers, thanks to bumper stocks and favourable weather.

* The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is demanding a thorough review of the foot-and-mouth crisis, despite the High Court backing the Government's decision not to hold a public inquiry into the epidemic.

The authority is seeking reassurance that any blunders made during the crisis can never happen again.

Chief executive David Butterworth said: "Foot-and-mouth disease was undoubtedly this national park's darkest hour. The strength of feeling that lessons must be learnt is absolute."