THE legacy of foot-and-mouth is expected to bring more misery to the region's countryside this month.

The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) says it will be forced to close and sell at least 20 hostels around the country in a bid to claw back some of the £5m losses it endured last year.

The association has drawn up a hit-list of 26 hostels nationwide - a handful of which are in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

One of the hostels on the list is at the top of Baldersdale, near Barnard Castle, County Durham. The hostel, which opened in 1979 and lies on the popular Pennine Way walk, was closed throughout last year.

Also on the Pennine Way is Langdon Beck hostel, north of Baldersdale, although that is not thought to be under threat. But three more hostels in the Yorkshire Dales are thought to be on the at-risk list.

Deputy manager Ray Milner, who has worked at Baldersdale for five years, said he and manager Angela Middleton could only hope for the best. He said: "We had a lot planned for last year and had arrangements with local tourist attractions, but that went out of the window with foot-and-mouth.

"If we have to close then so be it, but it will be a big blow to local tourist spots and the local economy. We are lobbying the YHA to keep Baldersdale open."

Hostels at Aysgarth in Wensleydale and Linton and Kettlewell in Wharfedale are under threat.

The thought that Aysgarth could close has stunned the Wensleydale business community, still dealing with the aftermath of the foot-and-mouth crisis itself.

"The cafes and shops in the area will lose out considerably," said chairman of the Wensleydale Business Association, Kate Empsall.

"We understand the hostel at Aysgarth alone sleeps about 7,000 people a year and all that custom will be lost just when we thought we had turned the corner.''

Ian Baker, YHA manager for the North-East, said: "This is not an ideal situation, but sometimes we have to make difficult business decisions. Hopefully, as few as possible will have to be closed down and sold."

YHA bosses will meet a week tomorrow to decide which hostels will close