THE Yorkshire Dales are to receive a £4 million boost to help recover from the ravages of foot and mouth - but it will come with a sting in the tail.

The money will go into non-farming rural businesses, training schemes and local amenities like shops and transport, says Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

But in the words of the agency's environment director, Heather Hancock, the money will not be spent to take the Dales back to their pre-foot and mouth state - "because this crisis has shown us that this is not sustainable."

Ms Hancock is the former chief executive of the Yorkshire Dales and left the job amongst some controversy, saying that she found it difficult to work with some of the park authority members.

Yorkshire Forward will put £1 million into the development scheme and the rest will come from business, the national parks, and local authorities. Says Ms Hancock, who before she came to Yorkshire was a top Whitehall civil servant, added:

"We have got to stabilise what is happening and then start to build strength and depth into the rural economy."

In the meantime, growing hopes that the foot and mouth outbreak had been contained in the Craven area were dashed with a new case confirmed at Beamsley, near Bolton Abbey.