ALTHOUGH the number of foot and mouth cases passed the 1,000 mark yesterday, the rate of increase was slowing down and Government experts were expressing quiet optimism that the epidemic peaked.

Since the army were called in to speed up the slaughter and burial of suspect animals, controls are "beginning to bite," says Government Chief Scientist Professor David King.

This allowed Prime Minister Tony Blair to announce that the highly controversial use of vaccination - a prospect which had split the farming community down the middle - to be put on hold although, said Mr Blair, it will still be kept in mind as a last resort.

And today, Agriculture Secretary Nick Brown warned that, as yet, there was "no room for complacency." If the disease is on the wane, it is expected that a general election will be called on June 7.

Other developments include:

• The Government task force set up to fight the crisis is to begin studying ways of helping rural businesses like pubs, hotels and haulage firms badly hit by the epidemic to re-build. It has already asked banks and other financial institutions to take a "sympathetic view" on badly hit businesses.

• On the same note, the Yorkshire branch of the Country Landowners' Association is asking that local councils act now to give rural businesses a three month "holiday" for the payment of business rates. The Government has offered to fund up to 95% of this rate relief.

• Experts at York University have been called in to study ways of preserving a gene pool of rare farm animal breeds so that future generations may survive even if large numbers of the existing stock is culled. Under major threat are the Lake's District's unique Herdwick sheep but there are rare breeds like the Dalesbred - found mainly on Malham Moor and the fells of Upper Wharfedale - which could also benefit if the disease were to spread here.

• Yet another major agricultural event, the Cottingham Show in East Yorkshire, has been cancelled because of the crisis. It had been scheduled for July 7/8.