THE ARMY produced the first real sign of optimism for weeks in the foot and mouth crisis when it announced today that it may have "turned the corner" in the battle against the disease.

Unlike some politicians and Government scientists, the military has been very cautious so far in raising false hopes in the fight against the epidemic. However, it has now issued a statement saying that troops have caught up with the backlog of burying or burning culled animals - a delay which has caused much distress amongst farmers and other country folk.

The announcement has been met with crossed fingers by farmers and owners of rural businesses, who hope that the countryside will get back almost to normal in time for the summer tourist season.

But as one prominent Craven landowner commented: "It's a shame they didn't bring in the army two weeks earlier. If that had happened, we might even be saying that the end is in sight today."

In a further development, the Skipton Building Society has launched a national campaign called Assisting Rural Communities in which is hopes to persuade other banks and building societies to take an active role in helping the countryside recover from the disaster.

The SBS is prepared to suspend mortgage payments without penalty to people hit financially by foot and mouth and is urging other institutions to follow suit. The society is also setting up collection points at all its 80 branches to allow people to donate cash to countryside charities.

Barclays Bank is also donating £1 million to assist rural regenerations by supporting tourist events, re-training programmes and land-use diversification schemes.