ABOUT 300 of the 400 staff employed at York's DEFRA offices were thought to have stayed at home today.

A group of about 20 protesters gathered at the offices, in Peasholme Green, waving placards which declared: "Obey the law, Mrs Beckett - equal pay now", directed at DEFRA minister Margaret Beckett.

Graham Pearson, a group assistant secretary with DEFRA in York, said: "We are scenting victory on this. The Government lied to us about the new department, saying nothing would happen to MAFF, and they lied to us about doing something about pay.

"We are planning a rolling programme of further action, but we are quite willing to talk if the Government is."

Mr Pearson said staff at the York office had been asked to "use their own conscience" over whether to picket if they felt their job was essential to tackling the foot and mouth crisis.

Nationally, up to 3,000 workers from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union were taking the action over pay inequalities.

Meanwhile, experts say a failure to maintain movement restrictions and bio-security measures on farms has allowed the outbreak to drag on.

And if the disease was not eradicated, it would become far more difficult to tackle in the colder, wetter weather of autumn and winter.

Predictions that the epidemic would be over by October may now have to be revised, unless security measures are rigorously enforced.

North Yorkshire County Council is currently investigating 70 breaches of foot and mouth precautions, 20 of which are in the Thirsk bio-security area.

They include unlicensed animal movements and failing to disinfecting vehicles and clothes.

But workers in foot and mouth hot spots were deliberately not being targeted.

- The latest case has been confirmed at Deepgrove Farm, Lythe, near Whitby.

Updated: 15:34 Monday, August 20, 2001