NORTH Yorkshire farmers have reacted angrily to potential plans to ban lamb more than a year old or on the bone.

This is one of the options being looked at by the Food Standards Agency to cut the risk of BSE entering the food chain.

Derek Watson, York County NFU chairman, said the measures were unnecessary because there was no evidence of BSE in UK sheep.

"It is totally unnecessary and damaging to the industry for the Food Standards Agency to suggest such a policy," he said.

"If it was introduced it would be devastating to the sheep farming industry.

"They should concentrate instead on monitoring food imported into the UK. There are countries in Europe where BSE is more prevalent than in the UK."

Rosie Dunn, a York area sheep farmer, said the suggestion was 'over the top'.

"We have been monitoring sheep in this country for a number of years but there has been no evidence of BSE," she said.

"Farmers are getting tired of these false scares."

Updated: 09:38 Thursday, March 14, 2002