A NORTH-EAST fell which was once witness to the horrors of foot-and-mouth disease when it became a burial site for thousands of cattle has been transformed into a haven for wildlife.

Durham Wildlife Trust yesterday added County Durham's Hedleyhope Fell to its portfolio of nature reserves when it was opened by MP Hilary Armstrong.

Representatives from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and HJ Banks, which gave the trust ownership of the land, and Durham County Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, which are funding the management of the site with Defra, joined in the celebrations.

The site has been extensively disturbed by opencast mining in the past and part of the fell was used as a burial pit during the foot-and mouth-crisis in 2001.

Richard Wood, chief executive of Durham Wildlife Trust, said: "For this site to become a nature reserve is fantastic and represents a new and brighter future for the fell.

"We envisage that through our engagement with the local community, we will be able to enhance and conserve the outstanding wildlife, educational and recreational value of the site."

The eastern section of the fell has been designated a County Wildlife Site because of its importance to conservation.

Hedley Hope Fell is one of the largest remaining examples of recovering mid-altitude heathland in the county and is a rare habitat in County Durham.

The site is very important because it supports a range of rare and uncommon flora and fauna, including lesser skullcap, stag's-horn clubmoss, the small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly and the velvet ant, which has not been recorded anywhere else in the county. It is also home to breeding short-eared owls, badgers and brown hares.

Durham County Councillor Joe Armstrong, a member of the steering group that brought about the handover to fruition, said the council's £10,000 contribution towards the project showed the importance it attached to the fell.