A GOVERNMENT letter hinting at the possible use of a foot-and-mouth burial site during the winter months has sparked fury among residents campaigning for its closure.

People living near the controversial site at Inkerman, Tow Law, County Durham, were furious after reading a copy of a letter by Farming Minister Elliott Morley.

It stated: "The necessary arrangements are being made to prepare the site for possible use in the winter and avoid an adverse impact to the environment.''

Councillor Jenny Flynn, of Tow Law Town Council, said she was stunned.

She said: "We have had discussions on what they are going to do with the restoration of the site, so the letter came as a bolt out of the blue.

"I have written to Mr Morley saying that his letter contradicts what we are being told."

But a spokesperson for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stressed that circumstances had changed since the letter had been written.

He said: "There are no plans to use it as a burial site. We are doing environmental work over the winter so that there is no pollution from the site. We are talking to local authorities about the future of the site."

Local MP and Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong said there had been movements at the site, but they were to take hay and gravel to cover the trenches before they are capped.

She said: "Defra, to date, has not said that it is closed forever, but I have their absolute assurance that they are going to do everything possible not to use it again and, therefore, plans for restoration are going ahead. They will return it to common land."