A nature reserve closed since the start of the foot and mouth disease crisis has reopened.

Snakemoor reserve at Haddenham is one of scores of Thame area spaces from which Buckinghamshire County Council's stringent restrictions have been lifted.

Parish council member Michael Whitney, a leading volunteer on the reserve since its inception, said: "It is good to see the countryside opening up again."

Most footpaths round Haddenham and between the village and Thame have been reopened, as have many popular local walking and picnicking areas like Wendover woods and Whiteleaf hill with its cross cut in the chalk visible from Thame.

A spokesman for the county council said restrictions were being lifted wherever it was safe to do so, but many paths were still closed.