THE Army was last night helping under-pressure Government officials fighting to control foot-and-mouth disease in the North-East.

About 80 soldiers were called up as the outbreak threatened to overwhelm experts from the Ministry of Agriculture (Maff).

Senior officers have been liaising with Government officials in the region for several days, but this marks the first time soldiers have been deployed on the ground.

By last night, Army teams under the control of Green Howards Brigadier Andrew Farquhar were working alongside Maff vets in County Durham, Cleveland and Tyne and Wear. They joined teams already working in Cumbria.

The military help came as thousands of dead animals were being poured into a huge pit at the disused Great Orton airfield near Carlisle, Cumbria.

Brigadier Alex Birtwhistle, the commander in charge of disposal operation, said up to five further sites in Cumbria were under consideration.

In the North-East, Brig Farquhar said: "Thankfully, the scale of the problem isn't as bad as Cumbria, but we are still looking at all options and planning for any eventuality."

Although there are no plans for a mass grave similar to the one near Carlisle, The Northern Echo understands possible sites have already been examined in case the situation badly deteriorates.

Brig Farquhar added: "We are simply trying to allow Maff to do its job of controlling this awful disease.

"By working on the ground we can do the work that would otherwise tie up a Maff expert."

Two new cases were confirmed in County Durham yesterday - at Tow Law and Cornsay - bringing the number in the county to 37.

Nationwide, there were 21 new cases yesterday, talking the total to 628.

On the first day of operations in Cumbria, 7,500 carcasses were buried, and a further 20,000 dead animals are due to be buried in the next 48-hours.

Plans are being put in place for the transportation tomorrow of live sheep to the site, where they will be slaughtered and buried.

The mass slaughter programme will start at the southern end of Cumbria, near Penrith, and work northwards in an attempt to clear a "fire wall" to try to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Site contractors currently have 27 leak-proof containers ferrying the victims of the disease from farms around Cumbria to the mass burial site.

The logistical headache of disposing of thousands of slaughtered livestock is expected to be eased in the coming days with the arrival of a further 25 leak-proof containers.

This will enable the Army to dispose of 20,000 carcasses a day by the middle of the week.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair hinted early today that ministers could be about to change policy and start vaccinating animals against foot-and-mouth.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today there had been a significant shift in opinion about the use of the controversial vaccine.

"A few days ago even, this was generally regarded as anathema to very large parts of the farming community," he told the early-morning show.

"As you track the disease and see how it spreads, things that may have seemed utterly unpalatable a short time ago have to be on the agenda. Of course, it has consequences for the farming industry.

"But we keep this under review, we are urgently looking at all those possible options for the future and it's something that we want to sit down and discuss with farmers' leaders."

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, who was heckled by demonstrators during a visit to Cumbria yesterday, spoke of a strain on resources, particularly among vets, and called for help from vets abroad.

But he promised to get "response times" down to 24 hours from discovering an outbreak to starting the slaughter.

Mr Brown is to make a Commons statement today, and also hopes to publish a report on the likely source of the outbreak - believed to be Burnside Farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall, North-umberland