THERE is more gloom on the foot and mouth front today as recorded outbreaks race towards the 500 mark and an admission from a top scientist that the epidemic will not peak until mid-May.

Professor Roy Anderson, of Imperial College, London, and a key Government adviser, also says that the present crisis will be worse than the 1967 outbreak, which will bring little joy to farmers.

Although it gives us little pleasure to say it, this was predicted by the Daelnet team as long ago as March 6 - see A Summer at Stake - when ministers were still insisting that the situation was under control.

There was, however, a small glimmer of hope for other rural businesses as the Government launched a massive advertising campaign to hammer home the point that not all Britain's countryside is closed for business.

This is aimed at bringing some relief to tourism-centred businesses which, according to the Countryside Agency, will have lost £2.6 billion by the end of Easter, a loss that could run to £9 billion in total when farming losses and other costs are taken into account.

The agency, which is Government funded, describes measures announced yesterday to help rural business as "a sensible start" but adds: "These measures alone will not save many businesses from going bankrupt …The best and fastest way to get real help to rural pubs, shops, hotels and their suppliers is to get the customer back across their thresholds."

To this end, the Government has launched a new rural helpline to guide would-be visitors to professional advice on where they can go and what they can do without adding to the risk of spreading the disease.

The helpline, due to come into action today, is: 0870 241 5659.

Other developments include:

• A cull of 1,000 healthy animals is due to begin near Hawes in Wensleydale today as a "targeted slaughter" to prevent the further spread of the disease from a cluster of farms in the dale. Although the action is causing much grief in the district, the scale of the cull is much smaller than at first predicted: at one stage, tens of thousands of sheep and cattle were thought to be under threat.

• The EU has banned the export of all livestock from Holland following a third outbreak of foot and mouth. The Dutch Government said it would start on a policy of vaccination, which the Government here has so far ruled out because vaccinated animals can make an outbreak much more difficult to identify.

• And a little good news for farmers wishing to diversify into other fields. New guidelines have been issued to local councils emphasising the importance of the need for diversification when considering applications for planning permission for new farm developments. See Country News