A GOVERNMENT scientist last night moved to allay public fears over the transportation of foot-and-mouth pyre ash.

"Everything possible has been, and will be, done to ensure the ash is dealt with safely,'' said Dr Mike Tas, national director of disposals for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

He made his comments as preparations were made to ship a massive consignment of cremated animal waste from Teesside.

About 1,200 tonnes of pyre ash from a burning site in Northumberland were loaded in 60 sealed containers on to a train at the Freightliner depot, on Teesside.

It was being taken overnight to a landfill site in Buckinghamshire.

Dr Tas said: "Our most recent analytical information on pyre ash is very reassuring. Levels of dioxins and polyaromatic hydrocarbons are low and considered to present very little risk. Dioxin levels approach the normal soil background.

"Although we have always been confident that the transport of ash through Redcar and Cleveland presented no health risks, we recognise that local people have been concerned, and are pleased to announce that disposal plans have now been finalised.''

The containers were staying sealed until arrival at the Buckinghamshire dump.

They will be cleaned and disinfected and returned to the North-East in the next few days.

The ash was recovered from a burial site at Hemscott Hill, at Widdrington, Northumberland, where thousands of cattle were cremated. The ash has been lying at the site for almost two months.

Residents were advised to stay at least 300 metres upwind of the site because the excavation work could have aggravated asthma in sufferers. The ash has been transported in about 200 lorry loads.

Read more about the foot-and-mouth crisis here.