CAR parks in the Yorkshire Dales are full again as visitors return to the area in great numbers post foot and mouth.

And the signs are that the Dales are even more popular than they were before the epidemic descended upon Craven in 2001.

A total income of £338,900 from car parking charges during the 2002-03 financial year was reported at a meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's finance and resources committee meeting this week.

Total figures show that more than 240,000 visitors used the authority's 12 car parks last year and surpass numbers recorded before the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak.

Malham and Grassington remain the two busiest car parks and are likely to be bursting again this Bank Holiday.

Jon Avison, head of park management at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: "It is encouraging to see an increase in visitors using our car parks; it gives a clear sign that visitors are returning to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and making their valuable contribution to the local economy."

The income generated by visitors using National Park Authority car parks is reinvested in continuing work to protect and maintain the area's rights of way network as well as the wildlife and special environment of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.