A FAMILY ice-cream firm, forced to move to a town centre site because of the crisis, has bounced back.

Trade has improved, and chairman Brian Moore is urging others to follow suit.

He said: "We took the view that if our customers could not come to our farm to buy their ice-creams, we would take the ice-creams to them. And it is working very well."

The Brymor firm, from High Jervaulx, is now established in Masham Town Hall, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Mr Moore said yesterday: "We just did not know how it would work out, but the support we are getting is fantastic, not just from our loyal customers but the people of Masham.

"They have been absolutely wonderful.

"There is genuine concern from the public about how the foot-and-mouth crisis is affecting the farming community and the countryside, and I think that is why we have had such support."

The firm suffered losses of £50,000 early in the crisis, before moving.