A VET claimed a farm at the centre of last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak had been infected for a month, but changed his assessment when told he had checked the animals only weeks earlier, a court heard yesterday.

But ministry vets hotly dispute the accusation made by farmer Bobby Waugh during evidence given to South-East Northumberland Magistrates' Court.

The 56-year-old farmer ran a pig fattening unit in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, which supplied Cheale Meats abattoir, in Essex, where foot-and-mouth was first identified in February last year.

When officials visited his farm on February 22, his pigs were still well, Mr Waugh told district judge James Prowse sitting at the magistrates court.

When agriculture ministry vet James Dring told Mr Waugh he suspected some beasts had been infected up to a month beforehand, the farmer told the court that he replied to the vet: "Well that puts you right in it then.

"You were there less than four weeks ago. Why didn't you find it then?''

Mr Waugh told the court that the vet then changed his assessment and said the pigs showed signs of having the disease for between two and three weeks.

Mr Waugh also revealed he had been offered 24-hour police protection from animal rights activists as officers feared he may come under attack following the outbreak.

"They thought animal rights might be on to us," he told the hearing.

"They gave us numbers to phone if anyone was following us."

The prosecution, brought by Northumberland County Council's trading standards department, alleges Waugh fed pigs unprocessed swill.

But he said he was given permission by Mr Dring to feed them the uncooked waste food after foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed and it was apparent his herd would be slaughtered.

Mr Waugh told the court: "I said, are you sure? and he said, 'yes, they are going to get killed anyway'.''

Mr Waugh, of St Luke's Road, Pallion, Sunderland, denies five counts of failing to notify officials of a foot-and-mouth outbreak, four of cruelty to animals, one of taking unprocessed catering waste on to premises where pigs are kept, one of feeding unprocessed waste to pigs, four of failing to dispose of animal by-products, and one of failing to record the movement of pigs.

The case against his brother, Ronald, 60, who helped run the farm, was adjourned indefinitely due to ill-health.

The farmer denied hiding the fact that he fed unprocessed waste to his animals to avoid being shunned by fellow farmers.

He told the court yesterday: "I have never had anything to hide, I'm very well respected everywhere.