THE Government is facing a revolt from rural businesses seeking more than £5bn in compensation for foot-and-mouth.

Ministers offered small businesses hit by the outbreak £3m but traders from worst affected areas, which include County Durham, North-umberland and North Yorkshire, plan to sue for billions of pounds.

They have formed the UK Rural Business Campaign and aim to use Human Rights legislation over claims that the Government was negligent and discriminated again-st those affected.

Stephen Alexander, partner of London-based Class Law Solicitors, which is conducting the case, said: ''This will be a landmark case in respect of the rights of individuals to carry on their business and we will be invoking Human Rights legislation as well as showing that the Government acted negligently and in breach of statutory duty.''

The first claim is that the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was negligent in allegedly distributing wrong information about areas closed to the public and alleged illegal road closures.

Another claim is that Defra broke people's right to enjoyment of their property under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The third claim is that the Government discriminated against those affected by foot-and-mouth in that some farmers were compensated for culled livestock, while others whose animals were not culled but who still suffered financially, were not.

There is scepticism in the North-East that the £3m offer will make an impact.

Phil Barber, the National Farmers' Union representative for Teesdale and a member of the area's Foot-and-Mouth Task Force, said: "Everybody seems to have forgotten we exist."