A hot-air charter balloon pilot who has not flown since the outbreak of foot and mouth fears he could still be grounded when his flying season starts.

David McCutcheon, pictured, who founded Air-borne Adventures 12 years ago, has lost tens of thousands of pounds over the 11-month-long crisis.

Yet he hopes to start taking customers back into the sky over the Yorkshire Dales from March 24.

But with two per cent of footpaths in the Yorkshire Dales still closed as farms continue to disinfect, Mr McCutcheon fears he could still have problems finding somewhere to land.

"Balloons are unpredictable in the sense of the exact location where they will land," he said. "You can't exactly steer away from an area.

"If areas are still closed, it may mean we can't go ahead in some places."

He plans to fly from Aireville Park at Skipton, White Hills at Stirton near Skipton, or Rath-mell in Lancashire between March and October.

The uncertainty comes at a time when he has for the first time won two major commercial deals.

The two new hot-air balloons sponsored by the Co-op International Bank and the textile giant DuPont will join the four-strong fleet.

"This is the bright side of this awful time," said Mr McCutcheon. "But there's still that uncertainty.

"We're hoping the whole area will be declared no longer foot and mouth at risk so we can get these balloons flying.

"We have managed to keep in touch with last year's customers and pull them over to fly this year.

"So that way we have been able to avoid refunds.

"But we've still lost tens of thousands of pounds in business."

His company received £2,000 in cash support from the Government's Business Link and some cash help from the Craven Recovery Fund.

Mr McCutcheon, who founded his Rylstone-based company in 1989, is a former member of the British ballooning team.

Later in the summer he hopes to fly his two new hot-air balloons at events in Bristol, Northampton, on Merseyside and in Europe.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said there would be only a very slim chance of him landing on infected land because there are only two farms which have not completed secondary cleansing.

If he had any concerns he should contact the department for details of their location.