A TEESDALE dairy farmer who set up a successful off-road driving school is now welcoming customers from all over Europe.

Since setting up a web site, he is getting bookings not only from across the UK but from abroad.

Graeme Gill established Deepdale Off-Road after plummeting milk prices forced him to look for other sources of income.

Smartgill Farm near Barnard Castle supported 60 dairy cows but low prices in the early Nineties meant he had to look to see how the rugged terrain and hillsides of the non-grazing land could bring in additional income.

"The seeds of an idea came to me ten years before while off-road driving on holiday in the depths of Scotland. The countryside up there was ideal and just as rugged as back home," said Mr Gill, 42.

He started training with Land Rover, which runs advanced off-road instructor courses, and joined Borda, the leading body for off-road driver training operators in the UK, with the goal of setting up his own off-road centre.

In the first year he employed a part-time instructor so that he could continue milking the herd. During that period farm gate milk prices dropped to 8p a pint, while Deepdale Off-Road went from strength to strength.

"Customers were buying our off-road courses as 'experiences' and money was paid up front for vouchers. That was a novel experience for someone who had been a farmer all his life," said Mr Gill.

By the end of the second year, he performed what could only be described as a "middle-age business somersault" - selling his herd and concentrating on the new business venture while retaining young stock.

The business also developed a reputation with land-based professionals and Mr Gill still regularly instructs other farmers, gamekeepers and fell rescue members.

But, as the business grew, his time for administration shrank and to ease the burden he decided to invest in an internet computer system to organise records, manage accounts and communicate with his customers via e-mail.

"I've always been a dinosaur with computers but I could see how they would speed up the business," he said. "I had not used one before and what I needed more than anything was good quality training to go with it."

He turned to the Rural Technology Partnership, run by husband-and-wife team, Peter and Gaynor Johnson, which offers the Countryside Computer Package.

This comprises an internet-enabled Hewlett Packard computer system combined with personalised training. The offer is available exclusively to farmers and rural businesses and training is provided by Lantra, the national training organisation for the land-based sector. Training subsidised by Defra by up to 75pc is also available in many parts of the UK.

"The training can include one-to-one sessions at your premises and is tailored to your individual needs. This gave me the basic skills and confidence to make use of the computer's software, surf the internet and use e-mail," said Mr Gill.

"Three months after receiving the computer and training we had developed our own Deepdale (www.deepdale.co.uk) web site and we were getting orders from all over Europe, including Spain and Holland."

The internet is becoming increasingly important to rural communities, with more than 60pc of farmers already in possession of an internet-enabled PC, according to a recent NFU survey, and the trend is set to continue.

Computers also make livestock records, subsidy applications and farm accounts less time-consuming. The need for farmers to get on the net is pressing as Defra has declared that subsidy applications, such as IACS, will have to be made via e-mail by 2004.

Defra-registered businesses receive automatic credit ratings and can lease the Countryside Computer Package over a three-year term at £75 plus VAT per quarter. Outright purchase starts at £649 plus VAT.

For further information on the Countryside Computer Package, farmers and rural businesses can telephone the Rural Technology Partnership on 0845 1300 466.