DISABLED people are missing out on therapy because of the crisis.

Riding centres for the disabled, in common with other animal keepers, have had to limit access to prevent further spread of foot-and-mouth.

Claire Jones, manager of Middlesbrough's Unicorn Centre, said that the centre has had to stop other clubs from hiring it at weekends, and cancel several of its own events.

"Since the crisis started, we have lost more than £600, and if some major events that we have planned are cancelled, we will lose a few hundred more for each one," she said.

At Strang Riding Centre for the Disabled, in Washington, yard manager Jane Pearson said: "We are losing most of our income and the horses still need to be looked after."

Devina Cannon, of the Riding for the Disabled Association, said: "They are all very supportive of the farmers' difficulties and therefore many of them have shut down entirely, while others have made adjustments.