Aid to be released for crisis-hit UK farmers

The British Government has announced the early release of compensation for the crisis-hit farming community as the number of cases of foot and mouth disease rose to 52.

Fresh cases have been confirmed in Cumbria, Lancashire, Oxfordshire, Durham, Herefordshire, Tyne and Wear, Cornwall and at a farm in Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway.

There are now 51 cases in England, Scotland and Wales and a single case in Northern Ireland.

About 45,000 animals have now been slaughtered as a result of the disease, including 6,300 animals which may have come into dangerous contact with infected animals.

Minister of Agriculture Nick Brown says farmers will soon get £156m from the European Union to compensate for currency movements, after he and EU Agriculture Minister Franz Fischler agreed to speed up payments.

National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill says the speed with which this decision has been made is in recognition of "the current difficulties" facing farmers.

Payments to sheep farmers will start this month, while beef farmers will receive payments in April and May, and those with dairy herds will receive a first instalment in April and then another in May.

Under normal circumstances the payments would have been made more than six months from now.

A flood of applications is expected from farmers wanting to take advantage of the restricted movement licensing scheme to transport animals to an abattoir.

Some local authorities are also working throughout the weekend to prepare the scheme which could see the movement of animals by Tuesday.