FOOT-AND-MOUTH has hit entries for a top mountain bike competition in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, this weekend.
Tomorrow's downhill races are the first to he held on a challenging new course in the forest and would normally have attracted 200 competitors.
But there is room for more in both this and a cross-country section on Sunday. Entries are being taken on the day.
Ian Gulliver, of the Hamsterley Mountain Bike Association, said: "The forest is the only place open at the moment because other areas are badly affected by foot-and-mouth.
"Entries are less than half and we could make a loss."
The contest is part of a Northern Area Mountain Bike Series. Registration is between 8am and 9am tomorrow and the course is open for practice in the morning before racing begins at noon
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