IF TRADITIONAL pork-breeder John Noble cannot find someone else to cut his meat, then he says he will be out of business.

Plagued by sleepless nights since he learned of Denney's decision to close, Mr Noble is now in the midst of a frantic search to save his Orton-based Stoneyhead Hall Farm business.

"I couldn't keep farming without the farmers' markets. They are vital to us," said Mr Noble, who attends eight or nine markets a month throughout the county.

It is hoped that plans for a cutting room off junction 38 on the M6, led by Kendal Rough Fell lamb breeder Steve Dunning, should be in place by September. But with Denney's closure in April, that is too big a gap for Mr Noble.

"We have built the business up to be quite successful and I absolutely don't want to lose it. In six months, the customer base will be gone."

Mr Noble said he got the impression that "people are going out of their way to make life as difficult as possible".

"Farmers have been told to stand on their own two feet. And a little band of stalwarts have gone out and done that. On the other hand, they are saying we can't allow you to do this and we can't allow you to do that."

Pig and sheep farmer Peter Woof, of Stainton Meats, who also uses Denney's, said he was undecided about whether or not to continue standing at Kendal Farmers' Market. He was also baffled by the new cutting regulations.