THE tiny community of Gunnerside in Swaledale defied the foot-and-mouth crisis to welcome the leader of the Methodist Church yesterday.

The Reverend Inderjit Bhogal had to postpone his visit to Wensleydale last week, due to the epidemic which hit four farms between Bainbridge and Hawes earlier this month.

Swaledale has escaped the disease so far and - with the Government stressing life should continue in countryside communities untouched by the outbreak - Mr Bhogal was able to reach the village church in time for a combined service, with children from Gunnerside Methodist school.

His programme took him on to visit the school's IT centre before he travelled back down the dale where he opened a similar unit at Richmond Methodist School.

"This is a good example of a community working together; it is a great learning resource and terrific for the pupils in the school," he said.

The Richmond unit includes a dozen computers in a room linked to the school library