AFTER eight days without new foot and mouth cases in the Settle-Skipton-Clitheroe area, hopes that the district was clear of the disease were dashed when two new cases were confirmed over the weekend.
B They were at Carleton and Silsden on Friday and at Hebden, near Grassington, on Sunday.

There Carleton and Silsden cases, both in the Aire Valley, brought new speculation that the disease might be following rivers.

So far, Government scientists have always denied the disease can be water-borne, but two new cases along the Aire invite comparison with earlier outbreaks which seemed to follow the Ribble and Wharfe valleys.