THE future of farming and tourism on the North York Moors remained in the balance last night, as national park chiefs battled against a cluster of foot-and-mouth cases.

Fears that the epidemic could be spreading further across the region subsided slightly yesterday, after no new confirmed cases were added to the two found in Westerdale at the weekend.

But farmers are still living in fear that the disease could march south through the national park, wiping out the already-stricken agriculture and tourism industries, and creating a hotspot similar to the Settle cluster.

Derek Watson, chairman of the North Yorkshire branch of the National Farmers' Union, said: "It keeps getting further and further south, and ever nearer to the large pig populations of East Yorkshire and the big livestock areas of Rosedale, Bransdale and Farndale.

"It would be an absolute tragedy if it reached this far, and farmers are holding their breath at the moment."

Mr Watson said the entire landscape of the moors, which was adapted to sheep farming, could be at risk if there were further outbreaks.

"Everyone is hoping we won't see another Settle. It would be devastating for agriculture and the tourism industry," he said.

Ryedale councillor Charles Scott, who lives at Appleton-le-Moor, echoed fears over the potential for the disease to spread, as thousands of sheep roam freely across the moors.

"With these outbreaks at Westerdale, I am very concerned, because we have all these sheep wandering about and everywhere is open to infection," he said.

Mike Pratt, of the North York Moors National Park Authority, said the latest outbreaks had come as a major setback to plans to revive tourism in the area, and officials were drawing up emergency plans to combat the threat.

"What we are trying to do is work within the infected areas to try to increase the regimes on farms to minimise the contamination," he said.

"It has come at the wrong time, right in the middle of the visitor season, and it is going to impact on the tourism and farming industries."

Another two cases were confirmed in the Skipton area yesterday, bringing the total in the Settle cluster so far to 68

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