TWO NEW confirmed outbreaks of foot and mouth near Settle, bringing the local total up to five, have been received with dismay in Craven which, so far, had escaped unscathed.

The geographical location of the Langcliffe case, in an area of long, narrow valleys, raises even more fears of further cases just as North Yorkshire County Council was considering reopening footpaths in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

And one of the new cases, on Malham Moor, is particularly alarming for vets because sheep from several farms share grazing "on the tops" and may have intermingled.

The new cases make the preparations for the general election on June 7 even more complex and sitting Skipton and Ripon MP David Curry, who is chairman of the House of Commons Agricultural Committee, lashed out.

"I had been worried for some days that an air of complacency had been creeping into the crisis and these outbreaks confirm those fears," he said.

"It started with the Government decision to save Phoenix the calf down in Devon, which was in my opinion a piece of blatant electioneering. Now, more and more farmers are going to court to prevent their livestock being culled.

"The Craven cases show that this epidemic is far from over and election considerations must not be allowed to slow or stop the attack against it."

• One of the major questions under debate in North Craven today is: how did the disease get here, many miles from the nearest outbreaks in Wensleydale and Cumbria, after more than two months of comparative isolation?

• There are many possibilities - brought in be people on clothes or vehicles or blown southwards by the strong north easterly winds of the last ten days - but some local residents are pointing a finger of suspicion at transporter trucks which are said to have been ferrying culled animals from Cumbria down the A65 to rendering plants in West Yorkshire.