MOVEMENT restrictions affecting dozens of farms were reimposed last night after one cow was found to be showing possible symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease.

Livestock movements were banned within a five-mile radius of the village of High Worsall, near Yarm.

Officials were last night stressing the precautionary nature of the checks being carried out at Moorhouse Farm where ministry vets identified signs which -while not completely consistent with the disease - could not be absolutely ruled out as foot-and-mouth disease.

Last night, the farm was sealed off while samples were sent to the Institute for Animal Health Laboratories in Surrey for urgent testing.

Initial findings are expected today but it can take up to 96 hours to confirm a negative test result.

Farms within eight kilometres of the suspect premises, which includes parts of County Durham, North Yorkshire and Teesside, will be unable to move livestock for up to four days while samples are analysed.

There are 76 cattle at Moorhouse Farm. None of the other animals has shown any symptoms of the disease and none have been slaughtered.

The farmer, Herbert Bainbridge, had only recently restocked his farm after having his previous stock destroyed in May after the premises was infected at the height of last year's outbreak.

Since the last confirmed case of foot-and-mouth on September 30, there have been a number of investigations into suspected cases. In February, two sheep at a farm at Hawnby, near Thirsk, produced suspect test results - all of which tested negative.

A spokeswoman for the National Farmers' Union said: "Obviously this is a worrying, although not unexpected, development.

"This is the second time we have had a suspect case during the re-stocking process, and we are hopeful that, like last time, it will be proved negative.

"Such scares are not unusual in the aftermath of such a major disease epidemic."

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.