FARMERS were handed a lifeline last night when officials lifted foot-and-mouth restrictions in County Durham.

Middleton-in-Teesdale became the seventh protection zone in the North-East to be lifted, after the area remained disease-free for more than a month.

The restrictions had meant farmers living under tight rules on the movement of animals, machinery and people.

Gordon Kingston, the regional operations director at Newcastle Disease Emergency Control Centre, said: "This is excellent news for the farming community in Middleton-in-Teesdale, and follows weeks of hard work by the staff at the disease emergency control centre."

But the picture remained bleak in North Yorkshire, where another outbreak of the disease was confirmed yesterday at Marderby Grange, Felixkirk, Thirsk.

The case came as more than half the footpaths and bridleways which criss-cross the Yorkshire Dales were re-opened.

Walkers will be able to ramble across Swaledale, Arkengarthdale, and parts of the Three Peaks from today.

But, many areas remain closed, including parts of Wensleydale, and around Skipton and Settle.

Jon Avison, head of park management with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: "Now that approval has been received, our staff will start the major task of opening and resigning previously closed rights of way.

"But, with the opening of the footpaths there comes responsibilities. Where rights of way remain closed, they will be marked as being so, and it is vital the public respects these notices, while making the most of the routes which have been opened."

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will be reopening some footpaths next Friday, following an about-turn by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Last week, the North-East office called on the council to freeze the reopening of footpaths, just days after the Government asked councils to reinstate access to the countryside.

Paths are to be reopened at Redcar, Marske, Saltburn, Brotton, and the urban areas around Eston.

The paths remaining closed will form a buffer between the borough's non-infected areas and the Esk Valley, where there has been an outbreak of foot-and-mouth

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.