NORTH Yorkshire farmers face an anxious wait over the Christmas period following the confirmation of a case of the fatal animal disease blue tongue on a farm near Middlesbrough. But the heavy frosts of the past week are a comfort.

The presence of BTV so close to Yorkshire is very worrying for everybody involved with livestock
farming

Dorothy Fairburn - CLA

Until now, the insect-spread disease has been limited to a handful of farms in East Anglia and the South East, more than 200 miles way, but the Middlesbrough outbreak brings it close to the North Yorkshire border.

The Country Land and Business Association's regional director for Yorkshire, Dorothy Fairburn, issued a statement at the weekend saying: "The presence of BTV so close to Yorkshire is very worrying for everybody involved with livestock farming.

"The good news is that it has been detected through routine checks. The time of year, combined with the current temperatures means that it is very unlikely that the disease would have been spread.

"It is also encouraging that Defra appears to have taken the low risk of transmission into account in its response and not created new protection and surveillance zones. Further restrictions on the movement of livestock are the last thing that the rural economy needs as it continues to struggle with the consequences of the movement restrictions put in place for this autumn's foot-and-mouth outbreak."

The disease is spread by biting insects like gnats and midges and has been spread north across Europe for several years, possibly due mild winters brought about by global warming.

Until last week, the mild autumn had meant that these insects were still active. But the hard frosts of recent days are likely to have killed most of them off.