WORRIED farmers have inundated Dorset County Council's footpaths hotline anxious to keep sensitive routes closed.

Scores of farmers said they struggled to get through to the council's footpath team while many condemned the authority for the short time it gave to ring in with details of paths which should remain shut off.

The move comes as a council countryside ranger Andy Elliott showed off some of the 6,000 green reopen signs which his team are busy posting around the county as part of Operation Footstep.

The council said that by Saturday 90 per cent of footpaths should be open, leaving the rest closed at the request of anxious farmers who got through to the hotline.

Most of the closed routes are paths which go through farm yards or are tracks regularly used by livestock coming in for milking.

Rob Baxter, Wimborne NFU secretary, said: "Virtually all the farmers in our area have been trying to call the hotline and then calling us because they couldn't get through."

"Dorset only gave a few days to ring in after they posted their letters out which has angered a lot of ppeople.

"They were told paths could stay closed if they complied with exemption details but there was some confusion over what the criteria were.

"However I think farmers reluctantly agree that some paths can be opened. The county has liaised with us all the way and now only a few individual farmers are complaining about individual paths but I think we are on the whole accepting this."

He added: "However we would ask people to use disinfectant if buckets are around and not to bring their dogs."

Terry Sweeney, DCC's countryside manager said: "Getting all these signs up is a huge operation. But we are confident that we can meet Friaday's deadline.

"Rights of Way teams will be touring the county this week delivering and putting up the new green Path Re-opened signs as well as a number of the red Closed signs in most of the highly sensitive areas."