THE DALES Recovery Appeal, set up to aid individuals, small businesses and voluntary groups in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis, handed out £10,550 this week bringing the total of cash awards to £22,450 in a fortnight.

Recipients included a village florist, two cafes and six farmers whose stock has not been culled but who have been unable to sell stock because of FMD movement restrictions.

The average award so far is just over £1,000 and appeal chairman John Sheard explained: "These are relatively small grants for people in real need and have been given priority. Our assessment panel will soon be examining requests for larger amounts."

Meanwhile, the appeal has continued its amazing fund raising success. In less than three months, it has raised almost £700,000, some of it thanks to matching £1 for £1 funding from the Countryside Agency under a "double your money" scheme which expires on September 28.

Donations include:

• £40,000 from trusts set up by the Sainsbury family, owners of the supermarket chain
• Up to £20,000 to cover admin. costs from Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency
• £5,000 from Tarmac, which operates several quarries in the Dales
• £1,500 raised by pupils at Skipton High School for Girls
• £300 from an Otley man for a sponsored walk over the Three Peaks
• And, to come, many local churches have volunteered to give proceeds of their Harvest Festival collections

John Sheard commented: "We have done remarkably well on the funding raising side. Now, we are well into the difficult process of assessing requests for help and distributing urgently needed cash grants for people, businesses and voluntary groups in need.

£We know there is real hardship in the Dales and we want those people who are suffering to contact us urgently.£

The appeal is seeking applications for grants from people in the area of the Archdeaconry of Craven, which spreads from Sedbergh in Cumbria to Denholme, south of Keighley, and west into the Trough of Bowland and the Ribble Valley.

Applications for grants - or donations of cheques made out to the Dales Recovery Fund - should be addressed to: The Appeal Office, 76 Main Street, Addingham, Ilkley LS29 0PD (phone 01943 831660). Donations from private individuals or registered charities will qualify for matching funding if received before September 28.