RESTRICTIONS imposed across the county to fight foot and mouth disease with the creation of "Fortress North Yorkshire" were lifted today.

A huge area was included in a "biosecurity zone" centred around Thirsk and stretching from Harrogate to Malton and down to the north side of York to stop the disease spreading south and east into the pig producing areas of the East Riding.

The Department of Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said today that the strict disinfecting and movement restrictions in the southern part of the zone had been lifted, but restrictions within the infected area around Thirsk, created before the introduction of the wider zone, would remain in force.

A spokeswoman said: "The situation is that we are back to the position before the zone was introduced, meaning there are still restrictions in the infected area."

She said the decision had been made because blood tests of 41,000 sheep and cattle out of the 121,000 in the zone had not contained any positive results.

The last case in the Thirsk area was on August 7. "We are now reassured that there are no undisclosed cases in the county" she said.

Updated: 15:41 Friday, September 14, 2001