A CLEARER picture of the misery caused by the foot-and-mouth crisis across Yorkshire has been painted in a new report on the state of the region.

Statistics show that the region's rural economy lost about £125m as the disease spread through the countryside and tough restrictions were introduced.

The knock-on effect cost the region another £125m, with the tourism sector particularly hard-hit, losing about three million trips and 900,000 bed-nights.

The grim figures are among the findings of the State of the Countryside Report 2001, published at the weekend by the Countryside Agency for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

The report draws together regional information from a number of sources to present a factual picture of what is happening in the countryside at the moment.

It is set to become one of the principal tools used by the Agency when measuring the success of the Government in meeting rural needs.

The Agency's regional director, Ian Deans, said: "This is the second year that we have published a report on the state of the countryside and on its own the report presents a snapshot in time of facts about the region's rural areas.

"But as we continue to publish this report on an annual basis it will enable us to identify trends and areas for investment, while also checking on the progress of the Government in delivering action set out in the Rural White Paper."

While highlighting the impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis, the report also notes that 35 per cent of the region's farmers - about 5,600 - now have additional sources of income through some form of diversification.

And although tourism suffered severely, 121 million day-visits were still made to the region, with the visitors spending about £1,249m.

Altogether, rural tourism generated 33,200 jobs.

Average gross weekly earnings in rural districts were £299.56, compared to £317.44 in the urban areas.

A third of the households in the region did not own a car - more than the proportion in the country as a whole - and rural households spent an average of £58.84 a week on motoring.

Some 72 per cent of parishes had a pub - compared with 75 per cent nationally - and 78 per cent had a village hall, as against 85 per cent countrywide.