FARMERS devastated by foot-and-mouth are furious at invitations to a series of government seminars, which they say brands them as Worzel Gummidge characters.

They describe the instructions they were sent to attend the meetings - aimed at helping them rebuild their businesses - as a "downright insult".

The first seminar, organised by the Rural Development Service (RDS) on behalf of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is being held at Auckland Castle, County Durham, on August 8.

Those attending are given the biosecurity instructions: "Attend the seminar in clean clothes and shoes - please do not attend in normal work clothes, arrive in a clean vehicle and use the disinfecting mats provided for vehicles and shoes."

RDS says it reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone who does not comply with the measures.

Farmers have described the image portrayed of them turning up in tractors with straw sticking out of their hats as "ludicrous and insensitive".

"All this proves is that government officials do not know much about the farming community," said Sheila Tock, of Witton-le-Wear, who had 21 sheep culled in March.

She has written to RDS saying: "We don't dress like Worzel Gummidge with green wellies and straw coming out of our ears when we go out."

Mick Hodgson, South-West Durham group secretary of the National Farmers' Union, said: "Farmers are quite as capable as anybody else at dressing properly.

"It's particularly sensitive when officials are allowing people to trample across farms without being asked to take any precautions.

"Nobody has taken the need to take proper precautions more seriously than farmers themselves."

A spokesman for Defra said: "We apologise to farmers if our letter has caused any upset. What we are trying to do is to reinforce the key message about biosecurity."

Read more about the foot and mouth crisis here.