FOOT-AND-MOUTH disease was last night creeping ever closer to Britain's prime pig farming area.

As the number of cases in North Yorkshire reached 103, pig producers were put on red alert and told to take every precaution possible.

The disease now appears to beheading south into the Vale of York which, along with East Yorkshire, makes up the area known as the "pig belt". Tens of thousands of pigs are bred on farms in the area.

Yesterday's confirmed new case, at Kepwick, near Thirsk, followed four more over the weekend.

Three were in the Thirsk area and one was at Lealholm, on the moors near Whitby - another area of growing concern.

Meanwhile, footpaths in Upper Teesdale were being re-opened to the public yesterday while preparations were also being made to re-open paths in Weardale.

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