OFFICIALS have promised to investigate after foot-and-mouth epidemic workers - allegedly still wearing their white overalls - called at a McDonald's restaurant for a meal.

The two men are reported to have gone into the fast-food chain's Catterick Garrison branch, in North Yorkshire, on Saturday.

It is not known whether they had travelled from farms at nearby Tunstall or Newton-le-Willows, where pyres have been burning, or an incinerator set up on Hipswell Moor on the edge of the garrison.

But their visit upset a customer, who was in the queue with her granddaughter, who claimed the men smelled strongly of smoke, while one had filthy hands.

"Members of the public have to stick to the precautions, such as not straying on affected land, and these two do not seem to have done that," said the woman, who asked not to be named.

"I have every sympathy with the people who have to do this job, but I object to standing next to someone who is not taking precautions. When I saw his hands at the counter, I could not believe it."

McDonald's management said staff had no recollection of men in white overalls calling at the restaurant, and a check of their security camera system also drew a blank.

But a spokesman for Maff said: "Procedures are in place to prevent people from leaving infected sites in their working clothes. The incident has been reported and will be investigated."

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