TENBURY'S MP has hit out at a government department claiming farmers have not received adequate compensation for losses sustained through the bovine TB crisis.

Bill Wiggin, who is the shadow agriculture and fisheries minister, put pressure on Defra over its handling of the disease during parliamentary questions.

He believes the government has failed to deliver a fair compensation system to farmers whose cows have been slaughtered.

"The compensation tables are too rigid and do not reflect an animal's true replacement value," he said.

"They have been devised by bureaucrats in Whitehall instead of professional valuers who know the trade.

"It is unbelievable that a 12-year-old is worth the same amount as a four-year-old."

Mr Wiggin added: "The Scottish Executive still sticks to individual valuations but English farmers, who are still waiting for their farm payments, currently have no confidence in Defra.

"These unfair compensation structures will do little to help."

Mr Wiggin recently supported farmers in Pensax who were involved in a high-profile dispute with Defra over Bovine TB earlier this year.