LENGTHY delays in compensation payments are hindering farmers' efforts to bounce back from the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Government officials admitted last night they were failing to meet targets for paying farmers affected by the epidemic, with waiting times more than double those promised.

The number of claims still being processed means it will be several weeks before the backlog is cleared.

Jeff Horn, who farms at Cowpen Bewley near Billingham, is still waiting for compensation for 19 cows, kept at Hutton Rudby, near Middlesbrough, and culled under the welfare scheme on May 10.

The welfare scheme provided for animals which could not be moved under foot-and-mouth restrictions but where their health was in danger.

Mr Horn said he was entitled to £900 per cow, a total of £17,100 - money he badly needed to help him restock his farm.

He said: "I want to restock the farm as soon as possible but unless there is money coming in I won't be able to pay for new animals or to pay my bills."

He said he was also waiting to be reimbursed for the cost of disinfecting the Cowpen Bewley farm, estimated at more than £50,000.

Laurie Norris, NFU policy advisor in the North-East, said there had been problems in payouts under the welfare scheme, handled by the Intervention Board, an agency within the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

She said: "There is a big delay and this will be causing problems for farmers hoping to restock. They will be relying on this money to pay their bills so it is fairly urgent."

An Intervention Board spokeswoman said they aimed to make payouts within 21 days but said only three per cent of claims were settled within this time-scale.

She said: "It is simply the sheer volume of claims we are dealing with.

"People are waiting up to 50 days for their claim to be settled.

"We have put extra resources into this area and we are catching up but there is a bit of catching up to do."

A Defra spokesman said they had a backlog of claims for the cost of cleaning and disinfecting farms of 1,500, with 450 new claims lodged a week.

He said they aimed to reduce the backlog of one week's claims within three weeks.