MORE than half of the 300 full-time farmers in Teesdale have now lost their livestock to foot- and-mouth.

The number of confirmed cases in the dale rose to 41 this week, but it was also revealed that more than 100 other farms had lost their stock, simply for being close to infected premises.

Mr Phil Barber, local NFU branch secretary, worked out the contiguous figures after MAFF stopped issuing them on confidentiality grounds.

For while farmers were still reeling from the effects of the disease, they had become the targets for salesmen who were using the readily available list of infected premises as a sales aid.

As details of foot-and-mouth cases continue to appear on the internet, NFU press officer Mr Rob Simpson confirmed there was anecdotal evidence of companies contacting infected premises for potential sales.

"They obviously realise that farmers will want to restock at some point in the future," he said. "But it is a question of where you draw the line between being unscrupulous and doing genuine business. Some might say they were preying on the vulnerable."

*There is still concern over the fate of 400 deer on the Raby estate at Staindrop, which is now surrounded by foot and mouth.

Spokesman Catherine Turnbull told the D&S Times that the deer were fenced off from public access and were being regularly inspected. "It is a drastic time for our tenants, but as yet the deer remain unaffected, so we are keeping our fingers crossed," she said.

County Durham premises confirmed as having foot-and-mouth this week include Mrs N K Stobbs of Killerby Hall, Messrs J T Forster & Sons at Killerby Farm and Low Keverstone Farm, Staindrop, J E Burton, Ivy Cottage Farm, Keverstone, Staindrop, and J M Littlefair, Keverstone Grange, Staindrop.

l Other news, page 14