HUGE SWATHES of North and West Yorkshire are under virtual siege this weekend following the foot and mouth outbreaks near Hawes and Queensbury.

After vets had carried out the grim task of slaughtering and burning some 230 cattle and 160 sheep, the Ministry of Agriculture imposed animal movement restrictions on hundreds of square miles of countryside from Hawes down to Settle and Otley and east to Richmond and Masham.

Hundreds of farmers were staying isolated on their farms and thousands of miles of public footpaths and bridleways are closed to walkers.