AN accident triggered by a careless rambler who did not shut a gate has sparked an Appeal Court test case.

The walker, who was not identified left the gate of Cam House Farm, Chop Gate, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, swinging, on October 26, 2000.

A herd of cattle got into a neighbouring field and then on to the B1257 road.

Motorcyclist Peter Donaldson hit one of them, suffering serious arm injuries.

In October, a Middlesbrough County Court judge ruled that the father and son running Cam House Farm were liable to fully compensate Mr Donaldson.

But now the National Farmers Union has taken up the case, arguing that the ruling places an "unrealistic" legal burden on farmers and other landowners.

Yesterday, Lord Justice Brooke said the appeal should be on a question of principle only and, whatever the outcome, Mr Donaldson, of Ashbourne Close, Eston, Middlesbrough, would retain his right to damages.

He heard that the gate had been installed, not by the farm owners, but by the North York Moors National Park Authority. The court heard the farmers' could not put a lock and chain on it as it covered a public footpath.

No date was set for the appeal hearing.