Ilkley Moor reopened today - despite fears it would remain shut until Christmas.

Businesses in the tourist town were celebrating after a U-turn on the future of the moors which attract visitors from all over the world.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's executive member for the environment, said officers received an e-mail out of the blue from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs saying the moor could reopen, except a small area within a three-kilometre zone of Hill Top Farm, Middleton, where there has been an outbreak of the disease.

But she called for a public inquiry into the handling of the crisis by DEFRA which, she said, seemed to make policies "while walking down the street".

The Council reopened Baildon Moor and large areas of the district last week acting on the guidance of dEFRA.

But Coun Hawkesworth said Ilkley Moor was not included, even though businesses were struggling to keep afloat.

She said: "DEFRA has been inconsistent from the start and it has been an absolute shambles. It is ridiculous and what difference seven days has made is absolutely beyond me."

But she added it was excellent news for the rural businesses who would now be able to start to pick up the pieces after the five-month countryside closure.

Countryside officers are today replacing closed signs with open signs, apart from a few paths within the three-kilometre zone.

Coun Hawkesworth said: "The local traders depend heavily on tourism and have been hit very badly. I would advise walkers to obey the signs and keep off the pathways which are still out of bounds."

A DEFRA spokesman said she did not have precise information about the reason for the decision to reopen Ilkley Moor but added that DEFRA had been constantly taking advice from vets and experts about action during the outbreak.