FARMERS in the region may still go ahead with Monday's planned protest, despite a Government pledge to relax the 20-day ban on livestock movements.

North-East farmers will decide this weekend whether to stage a day of action, in spite of a nationwide protest being called off yesterday.

Thursday's announcement by Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley means sheep and cattle being taken to a farm for breeding will no longer trigger a ban on other animals on the holding being moved for the next 20 days, as long as they are put into isolation.

Although the protest has been called off in most areas of the country, in Teesdale and Weardale, in County Durham, farmers were last night still vowing to go ahead with their protest.

In Weardale, about 20 farmers have pledged to stage a go-slow on the A689 road on Monday morning.

Herbert Hutchinson, who farms at Eastgate, said: "We will be meeting over the weekend to make a final decision, but at the moment our protest is set to go ahead."

Phil Barber, of the Teesdale branch of the National Farmers Union (NFU), said: "We obviously welcome this, but we have yet to see the detail. Through past experience, we have learnt to wait for the detail before making any judgement."

A spokesman for the Yorkshire and North-East branch of the NFU said protest organiser Jonathan Barber, from Norfolk, had made it clear the day of action should no longer go ahead.

However, other NFU representatives in the region warned farmers to err on the side of caution.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said yesterday that an announcement would be made shortly about the legislative changes that will be made to the Interim Animal Movement Regime.

These are expected to come into force next month.