NO NEW cases of foot and mouth disease were reported in the Settle area of North Yorkshire yesterday although there were three in the rest of the UK - two in Cumbria and one in Cheshire.

However, Government vets are concerned at the spread of the disease down the Ribble Valley from Settle over the Lancashire border towards Clitheroe, where there is now a cluster of seven cases.

The Army is believed to be moving even more men into the area. There are now some 200 troops taking part in culling operations and Ministry of Defence officials have been telephoning local hotels to see if they can accommodate more soldiers.

The Army is also discussing the possibility of using the Gisburn auction mart site - at the centre of the new Lancashire cluster - as emergency headquarters.

• In other developments, the Yorkshire Branch of the Country Landowners' Association has postponed its annual meeting due to be held at Broughton Hall, near Skipton, on June 8.

• The meeting will now take place in September at the earliest and Yorkshire CLA director Dorothy Fairburn commented: "This is a huge disappointment because it would at least have provided an opportunity for rural people to meet and talk."

• And the situation shows signs of great improvement on the eastern sided of North Yorkshire. MAFF officials today lifted movement restrictions on livestock in the Whitby area - "I am delighted to be able to announce this very good news," said MAFF's regional operations director, Dr Stephen Hunter.