THE foot-and-mouth crisis showed no sign of loosening its grip on the region last night, as more cases were confirmed in a stricken rural area.

Three new outbreaks were revealed in North Yorkshire, taking the total in the beleaguered county to 106 and forcing a pressure group to urge farmers to refuse to cooperate with the Government's slaughter policy.

Ground Force is working with leading solicitors to advise landowners on how to legally blockade their premises and deny access to slaughter teams carrying out contiguous culls.

The organisation said 16 farmers in the Vale of York - where a new cluster of cases has emerged since the weekend - had sought its advice and were prepared to challenge any attempts to slaughter livestock.

Farmers were urged to take a tough stance as new cases of the disease were confirmed yesterday at Kepwick Mill, at Nether Silton, near Thirsk, and at Redmire Farm, Tranmire, Whitby. Another outbreak was also uncovered in the so-called Settle Rectangle.

The Nether Silton case is the fifth in the major farming belt between Thirsk and Helmsley, and will increase fears that the epidemic could soon hit Britain's main pig production area.

As the epidemic continued to march through the region, Ground Force national coordinator Greg Lance-Watkins attacked the Government's policy of contiguous culls and said farmers had a legal right to turn officials away.

"The farmer can be so intimidated by the escalation of costs involved in defending his rights, but the Government has a bottomless pit of money which it is using to attack farmers with," he said.

"Our aim is to save as many animals as possible from unnecessary culling. We will give farmers all the assistance we can to make them aware of their position under law.

"Foot-and-mouth is coming down the A19 and North Yorkshire is a nightmare at the moment. The farmers will stand against the Government for as long as they can."

Read more about the foot-and-mouth crisis here.