Farming leaders have urged the government to halt the ongoing withdrawal of EU-style subsidies until delays to its new post-Brexit payments scheme are resolved.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) says the industry has been left in "a perilous place" as the old land-based Basic Payment Scheme is being phased out before the replacement Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is fully in place.

The new scheme, which rewards farmers for actions to protect and enhance nature on their land, was expected to be launched in August to deliver payments by December.

But the roll-out was delayed until September 18, meaning farmers will not see money in their accounts until January at the earliest - creating a widening financial gap for struggling rural businesses, while also setting back planned environmental work.

The NFU called on ministers to "do the right thing" by halting any further reduction in existing farm payments until delivery problems with SFI are resolved.

Charles Hesketh, the NFU's east regional policy manager, said: "East Anglia is predominantly an arable area so the vast majority of our farmers are growing field-scale combinable crops and they are very exposed to the withdrawal of BPS, which has underpinned food production for many years and offered a safety net of sorts.

"We have had another challenging year - yields have been OK, but July was really wet and there have been a lot of challenges getting straw baled and grain dried.

"Farming has always been a risky industry, but it seems like the risk factor is getting bigger and bigger.

"So we feel the sensible thing is to maintain whatever is left of that safety net until these new schemes are ready."

NFU president Minette Batters said: "With farm input costs through the roof and interest rates soaring, this leaves farmers in a perilous place.

"All we’re asking for is government to bridge the gap it has created by taking away one set of payments, but not delivering access to their replacements on time."

Defra announced last week that the 2023 SFI scheme will open for applications from September 18, but a pre-registration window which opened from August 30 would help smooth the application process by ensuring farmers had "all necessary information in place" - adding that the date would "provide certainty".