WITH another two outbreaks of foot and mouth confirmed in the Craven area - one this morning at Gargrave, only four miles from Skipton - there are growing signs that the area's troubles are to become a major general election issue.

There are now 18 cases in the Settle/Lancashire border area and the Ministry of Agriculture have drafted in some 200 workers, including vets from as far away as Devon, in a desperate attempt to avoid another Cumbria-style debacle.

When Prime Minister Tony Blair called the June 7 election, many political observers suggested he was gambling that, by then, the national situation would be under control and, indeed, the situation had fallen from the headlines until this week.

However, the Craven flare-up has put that plan in jeopardy and the situation is now back in the national news with a bang.

Today, the Country Landowners' Business Association launched a bitter attack, accusing the Government of "turning its back on the countryside" to concentrate on the election.

Leader Anthony Bosenquet said that many small businesses had not been compensated for losses caused by the disease - and many business people did not know how to seek help.

He called for a huge publicity campaign to show people how to claim - and demanded that the Inland Revenue set up action teams to be sent out into the countryside to explain on the ground what help was available.

The Department of the Environment countered by saying that £250 had been set aside for such assistance. But few small rural businesses have yet to receive compensation even if they have submitted claims.