DEFRA officials have extended animal movement restrictions across a huge area of Northern England after three new cases were confirmed yesterday, one each in Cumbria, Northumberland and Co. Durham.

The new restriction area, from York and Flamborough up to the Scottish border, and west into parts of Lancashire and Cumbria, will mean more misery for farms not infected but unable to take livestock to market.

Meanwhile, it seems that the inevitable inquest into the handling of the epidemic has already begun. The Government chief scientist, Prof. David King, said today that he wanted to impose limited vaccination in Cumbria as long ago as April - but was unable to get farmers to accept it.

Farmers, however, take the opposite view. They say that they rejected vaccination on official scientific advice.