Four more people tested for foot-and-mouth

Four more people are being tested for suspected foot-and-mouth disease.

The names of the latest suspected victims or their locations have not been disclosed.

Three other people are already being tested for the disease.

Two have not been named. The third is father-of-two Paul Stamper, from Dearham, north Cumbria.

He developed blisters in his mouth and the flu-like symptoms of foot-and-mouth after he was covered in fluids from a dead cow which exploded as he helped clear slaughtered cattle from a farm.

The latest samples were received by the Central Public Health Laboratory in north London after the four went to their GPs with concerns.

The results of the tests on all the suspected victims are not expected until next week.

Six people who were tested for the disease - which is very rare in humans - earlier in the epidemic were given the all-clear.