FARMERS yesterday welcomed the news that the region's livestock markets can operate from Thursday.

Hawes auction mart, in North Yorkshire, immediately announced that its two-day sale of 33,000 gimmer lambs - Britain's biggest - will be held on Monday, October 15 and Tuesday, 16.

The sale, which generates almost £2m and gives about 500 local farmers their biggest pay day of the year, had to be postponed a month ago because of the restrictions imposed after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the South.

Andrew Pratt, a director of the mart, said the reopening of marts outside the high-risk area in the South was good news.

Farmers had been particularly depressed with no income and animal welfare fears mounting.

He said: "In the office, we have sometimes been acting more like the Samaritans, people have been very down. This news is a boost for everybody's morale."

Mr Pratt said the south country buyers, who buy many of the lambs, had stood by the mart.

He said: "They are all waiting to buy from us so we are hoping the prices will be good."

Stephen Walker, auctioneer at Leyburn mart, North Yorkshire, expects to sell between 4,000 and 5,000 lambs and sheep on Thursday, October 11.

He said: "It is good to be able to plan again - now we are waiting to see what trade will be like."

He said the delayed sales would still have a knock-on effect into next year with the delay in tupping leading to later lambing.

David Hugill, chairman of the North Riding and Durham County branch of the National Farmers' Union, said the return of the marts was fantastic news.

However, he was concerned as to how buyers in the high-risk disease area would operate with not being able to take stock into the area.

He said: "Hopefully, there will be ways round it - a lot of gimmer lambs go down to the South and they will have to do a lot of re-jigging with grazing."

Angus Collingwood-Cameron, North-East director of the Country Land and Business Association, also had concerns.

He said: "With all that's gone on, and other existing restrictions, such as the 20-day standstill rule, the market is going to be hampered.

"While this is an important move on the road back to normality, there is still a long way to go before livestock businesses can be confident of viability."

Livestock marts can only operate in low-risk disease areas, subject to there being no change in the virus' situation. Stringent biosecurity measures will be imposed