Farmers' leaders have welcomed the first 24-hour period without any new foot-and-mouth cases since the crisis began three months ago.

But they warned the fight against the disease is far from over and urged people to remain cautious.

Kevin Pearce, of the National Farmers' Union, said: "We are a long way from beating this epidemic and zero cases in one day does not mean zero cases today, tomorrow and the next day."

There have been 1,607 reported cases of foot-and-mouth in the UK, leading to the slaughter of millions of animals, since the first cases were confirmed on February 20.

The Ministry of Agriculture said it was "very encouraging" there had been no new cases in England, Scotland and Wales.

A spokesman said: "It is very encouraging that the number of new cases is continuing to decline, but I don't think we would like to say that it is over yet.

"We have to keep up the guard and stay vigilant because we are hoping for this to be the final throe."

Shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo said the effects of the "devastating epidemic" would continue to be felt by farmers and rural businesses.

Read more about the crisis here.

Updated: 11.10 Friday, May 18