Farmers in Lincolnshire have welcomed plans to ease restrictions on the movement of farm animals, imposed after the foot-and-mouth crisis.

From March, farmers have to wait for three weeks before moving sheep and cattle off a farm when new animals arrive.

However, a six day restriction remains in place.

In 2001, foot-and-mouth led to the slaughter of more than six million animals and is estimated to have cost the UK as much as �4bn.

Tough trading

The huge volume of sheep being moved across the country helped spread the disease.

Since then farmers have been banned from trading animals within 20 days of new livestock deliveries.

It certainly has made us buck our ideas up and keep everything as clean as possible Jill Bourne, NFU

Sheep and cattle farmers have said this has made normal businesses impossible.

A study commissioned by the government has suggested there would be little extra risk if the standstill was reduced to six days.

Jill Bourne from the National Farmers Union in Lincolnshire says the news is long overdue.

"We have been working really hard to try and persuade the ministers to allow us to do this.

"I mean we take every bio-security precaution there is.

"It certainly has made us buck our ideas up and keep everything as clean as possible and I think we should be rewarded now by having just the six day movement."