Four new British cases of foot-and-mouth - 181 in total

Four more cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed - taking the daily total to 17 and the number of outbreaks to 181.

Four more British cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed - taking the daily total to 17 and the number of outbreaks to 181.

Britain's top vet has outlined the difficulties of bringing the foot-and-mouth crisis under control.

Jim Scudamore says the "major problem" is characterised by a handful of regions which had been most affected by the virus.

He said the "bulk of cases" are still known to have been spread by movements through Longtown market in Cumbria and by a sheep dealer in Devon.

However, Mr Scudamore's comments are unlikely to calm fears in the farming community that nowhere is free from the threat of disease after the disease took hold in two new counties.

A record daily total of 25 more outbreaks were confirmed yesterday by Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

They included cases in Gloucestershire, in the Forest of Dean, and a farm in Kent, both of which were previously unaffected. Today's confirmed case in Worcestershire was at a sheep farm at Bringsty on the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border.

And four new suspected cases of foot and mouth were today being investigated in Lancashire, a regional MAFF spokeswoman said.

Two farms in the Withnell area and two in the Halton area of the county are suspected of having the disease. At the moment there are three confirmed cases in Lancashire and five "dangerous contact" cases.

A total of 155,000 animals have now been earmarked for slaughter, of which 116,000 have already been culled. Since the crisis began almost three weeks ago, 935 premises have been placed under restrictions, of which just under half still remain in place. Investigations are still ongoing at 159 farms and other premises.