The legacy of Chernobyl lives on

Nine farms in the county are being examined by government scientists monitoring radiation levels from the Russian nuclear power station.

It is not suggested contaminated meat is reaching the human food supply.

The explosion on 26 April, 1986, released 100 times the amount of radiation of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki put together.

Strict government monitoring of farmland and livestock continues to show higher than accepted levels of caesium.

Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are regularly visiting farms in the county to test sheep for radiation picked up from the contaminated fells, which experts say could be affected until 2035.

Monitored regularly

The continued testing comes after the devastating effects of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, which has meant massive restocking of animals.

In the restricted areas, sheep are monitored regularly and before they can be sold have to spend time off the hills.

National Farmers Union north-west spokeswoman Gill Shearer said: "There are nine holdings affected in Cumbria and it is likely to go on for some time.

"It is a concern for the farmers."

A spokesman for Defra said the nine farms in Cumbria had a total of 11,500 sheep.

He said: "It is difficult to know how long these restrictions will stay in place, but the situation is reviewed annually."

Radioactive decay

Almost 400 sheep farms in England, Wales and Scotland are still affected, according to the latest figures seen by the BBC.

Upland farms in the UK were caught out by an unfortunate set of circumstances following the disaster.

Heavy rain followed the explosion washing radioactive decay products - mostly caesium 137 - out of clouds and onto fields.

Because of the nature of the soil in certain areas the radioactive particles, instead of getting locked up in the soil, were absorbed by plants.

And the sheep grazing the land ate radioactive grass.