FARMERS in a market town are facing another blow after Government officials shut down a livestock collection point.

Senior vets in London have overruled local Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) colleagues at Leeds over whether sheep in a field adjacent to Thirsk Auction Mart, North Yorkshire, create a disease risk.

Since October, 200 cattle a week have gone through the collection point in the town, in an area where thousands of animals were culled during the foot-and-mouth outbreak last year.

While marts remain closed to general sales, collection points help struggling farmers to cut the cost of transporting livestock to abattoirs, by allowing them to take their cattle to the mart to make-up full wagon loads.

But the Thirsk site was shut down last Friday and now farmers must take their livestock to collection points further afield, or pay haulage costs for half-empty loads.

Local farmer and mart chairman Harry Woodhead questioned the change, saying sheep had been in the field throughout.

"The farmers and haulage men in the area are now in a very difficult position.They have to travel further to get rid of their livestock."

He added: "This is typical of the stupidity we have seen throughout the crisis - one says one thing and someone else says another."

A Defra spokesman said: "We have to observe the strict biosecurity regulations. We don't want a repeat of foot-and-mouth-disease.

"Local Defra disease control centre vets at Leeds have local discretion and asked the collection centre to take precautions.

"But the view of the senior vets in London was that there was insufficient reason to waive the rules, so they asked the collection centre not to operate while there was stock grazing in the fields adjacent.

"The Leeds vets were overruled by London."

He said the auction mart would probably be back in use when new regulations are introduced next month.

A National Farmers' Union spokesman said: "If a senior vet on a local level makes a decision, it should stand and not be overruled by someone in London who knows little or nothing about the area.

"It's quite outrageous. This will make it much more difficult for local farmers to get animals to slaughter, and will increase haulage costs."