THE Government was accused of dragging its feet last night as a row broke out over the lifting of foot-and-mouth restrictions.

National Farmers' Union chiefs in the North-East said officials were being too cautious in moves to free counties of curbs.

But officials at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) hit back, claiming the union was not in full possession of the facts.

The union says it is worried that farmers in so-called "high-risk" areas, such as North Yorkshire and County Durham, still cannot re-stock their farms from other parts of the country.

The high-risk category means that farmers can only move stock to and from adjoining counties with the same classification.

Laurie Norris, NFU policy advisor for the North-East, said it could be mid-January before Defra finally cleared affected areas of restrictions, which would be too late for many farmers.

She said: "The Government's chief vet, Jim Scudamore, wants more blood testing of sheep to be done in high-risk areas.

"But we have spoken to vets and they are confident that there is no disease left.

"It is a case of London being over-cautious and making it very difficult for farmers and their day-to-day operations."

Sheep are tested for latent signs of the foot-and-mouth virus, because they can carry it without showing any obvious symptoms.

Once testing is completed, and the all-clear given, high-risk counties are declared "at risk" and restrictions can be eased slightly.

Three further months must pass before an area is deemed to be entirely free of risk.

Beverley Parr, of Defra, said: "There is strict criteria which dictates when counties change their status.

"The NFU would not be in a position to know what blood testing was necessary, or whether it had been done.

"And, in terms of being over-cautious, there is no such thing. People are working on the ground as fast as they can to make the necessary changes - but there are no short cuts."