THE strict "Fortress North Yorkshire" rules aimed at halting the spread of foot and mouth have been extended for two more weeks.

The bio-security zone was introduced around Thirsk for an initial 30 days on July 30.

Announcing the extension, the new regional operations director for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in Yorkshire, Dr Nafees Meah, said: "The results of this enforcement programme have been extremely encouraging in terms of the decrease in infringements we have seen.

"However, there are still some individuals who are not properly implementing key bio-security regulations and it is important that we do not relax our guard.

"Good bio-security is of vital importance in controlling the spread of foot and mouth disease and this is an area where failures could still lead to devastating consequences for livestock farmers."

Trading standards officers will continue to enforce the cleansing and disinfection rules, including 24-hour patrols.

More than 2,000 vehicles and 3,500 footpaths were checked in the first 20 days of the programme, and DEFRA officials supervised over 2,000 farm visits by milk tankers and feed lorries.

Infringements are now typically running at between none and 5pc of vehicles, compared to over 15pc in some cases earlier in the programme.

The most recent confirmed North Yorkshire FMD case was at DJ Allanson & Son, Deepgrove Farm, Lythe, near Whitby on August 18. Since the beginning of the month there have been eight confirmed cases, bringing the total in the county to 134.

Updated: 10:00 Thursday, August 30, 2001