RURAL despair at the foot-and-mouth crisis reached new depths last night after 45 new cases of the disease were confirmed, the highest daily total so far.

And the handling of the crisis took on an increasingly political tone as Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered a multi-million pound rescue package for the countryside and the Tories called for any decision on a May 3 poll to be postponed.

The Westminster wrangling came as the nationwide total of outbreaks rose to 394. Most of the new cases were in Cumbria and South-West Scotland with no new counties affected.

But two new cases were confirmed in County Durham, at Brancepeth, on the outskirts of Durham City, and another at Tow Law.

Yesterday, the Army began helping the Ministry of Agriculture (Maff) dispose of the piles of slaughtered animals littering farmland.

Tory leader William Hague's call for consideration to be given to delaying the May 3 local elections in England - and by implication the widely-expected General Election on the same day - fell on deaf ears.

Commons leader Margaret Beckett said: "It would send the worst possible signal to the outside world to call off these elections - namely that Britain was effectively unable to function."

Environment Minister Mich-ael Meacher announced that English Heritage and the National Trust were to open 350 properties between now and April 1.

British Waterways would begin opening canals next week, and local councils and the national parks would be considering which footpaths should now be opened.

The Government would also consider rate relief for rural businesses and match voluntary donations to charities which sought to help farmers through the crisis, he said.

A national advertising campaign will begin tomorrow aimed at encouraging people back to the countryside, with a special helpline to let would-be tourists know which areas are safe to visit.

In the North-East, a task force led by development agency One NorthEast is being formed to press the region's case at Westminster and look at ways of helping businesses get back on their feet.

In County Durham, officials are trying to work out the rough cost of the outbreak and movement restrictions on farms, tourist attractions, hotels and other countryside enterprises.

Durham County Council's economic development director Mark Lloyd said: "We need to make sure that the national task force set up by Michael Meacher is paying particular attention to the problems North-East businesses are facing."

Some hotels have lost 50 to 90 per cent of their business.

Mr Meacher's package announced to MPs included the offer of a swift route onto Job Seekers' Allowance for those put out of work by the outbreak and calls for the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and banks to give those affected leeway in payments.

Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong, MP for North-West Durham, said: "I am pleased that there has been some relief for other businesses because we have to make sure that people can continue to live and make their way in our rural areas."

But in the Commons, Derek Foster, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, warned Mr Meacher that ministers across the Government needed to "get a firm grip, so that his message will ring out with clarity across the country".

After Mr Blair met Agriculture Minister Nick Brown and Chief Vet Jim Scudamore, Downing Street announced plans to recruit more vets, license five more rendering plants to deal with carcasses, reduce the time vets have to be quarantined between farm visits and hold discussions on a central tariff for animal valuations to speed up slaughter.

Meanwhile in Wensleydale, where a fourth case was confirmed on Monday, confusion remained over animals slaughtered in the Yorkshire Dale, some of which had begun to rot where they lay.

Neighbours of those affected were even offering Maff the fuel to start to burn the bodies when they heard there was not enough to go around.

George Bowe - among those who lost their flocks at the weekend - could not understand why, after seeing his animals destroyed, they had been left to rot on his land. "The smell is terrible," he said.

However, last night Maff announced it would be removing the Wensleydale carcasses by lorry to a rendering plant in Cheshire. The A684 between Hawes and Bainbridge will be limited to local traffic today during the operation.