THE region was hit by another case of foot-and-mouth yesterday as the Government announced strict new measures to combat the disease.

The 23rd case in Northumberland means that more than 4,000 cattle and sheep are still waiting to be destroyed in the county.

And Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett revealed that, from Monday, almost the whole region will be classed as a "high-risk" area, which means movement of animals to outside the region will remain impossible.

Mrs Beckett said that movement of animals would be restricted according to three categories: high risk counties, at risk counties and disease-free counties.

Areas to be classified as high risk include North Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland.

In a letter addressing farmers directly, Farming Minister Lord Whitty said that tight controls would remain before further intensive testing.

He said: "If you are in a high risk county which has a substantial infected area or a restricted infected area - Cumbria, Durham, North Yorkshire, Northumberland and Powys - the previous weight of FMD infection means that more intensive testing of sheep flocks is required before we can be confident about the absence of hidden disease and movement control can be relaxed."

John Bradbury, regional operations director for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the North-East, described the latest case of foot-and-mouth, at West Aydon Shields Farm, Whitley Chapel, near Hexham, as proof that vets are spotting fresh outbreaks sooner than they were.

He said: "The new case was discovered as a result of the intense effort we are mounting in the Allendale area of Northumberland. All livestock movements in that area are now banned."

The veterinary manager at the Newcastle Disease Emergency Control Centre, Alasdair Macnab, appealed to farmers to check their livestock once again.

He said: "We would urge farmers to report any suspicions as quickly as possible."

The latest case in Northumberland means that about 150 cattle and 350 have been added to the number that must be destroyed.

l While details of the latest Northumberland case emerged yesterday, the outbreak was actually confirmed on Monday. Defra said no new cases were confirmed yesterday

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.