BBC Farm disease cases hit 2,000 mark Protesters are worried about their children's health

The total number of confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK has reached 2,000.

Agriculture officials confirmed the latest case on Monday in Cumbria.

There have now been 876 cases in the county since the crisis began in February.

The milestone came as protesters continued their noisy demonstration outside a controversial carcass burial site in County Durham.

Residents fear the re-opening of the site at Tow Law is a public health threat.

They are considering court action to force the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to close it.

The cluster of foot-and-mouth cases in north-east England is continuing to grow, sparking fresh slaughter - although Defra says there is now no backlog of animals waiting for disposal.

The mass grave at Tow Law re-opened after a fresh case was confirmed at Newbiggin Farm in Blanchland on Sunday. It was the 17th confirmed case of the virus in 10 days.

Click here for a graph of cases

Local residents say the site - the scene of protests three months ago - poses a serious environmental risk and they are battling to have it closed down.

But the government says the reopening is necessary to help dispose of the thousands of animals culled to prevent the spread of the disease.

"We are satisfied that Tow Law does not pose an environmental danger," said a spokesman for Defra.

Eleven lorries dumped carcasses at Tow Law on Sunday and seven more which arrived on Monday morning were greeted by groups of protesters.

Ann Ward, 56, from Tow Law, said: "We don't approve of them burying right near a school. It is also far too near to the village. We don't know what the impact will be on the children's health in the future."

Local children are due to return to school on Tuesday after the summer holiday, but parents say they may keep them off unless the site is closed.

Protester Peter Lister said he had been told the site would only take animals culled in County Durham, but he said they were coming from a much wider area.

He said: "Wherever there is an outbreak we take it. It is beyond belief."

'Terrible smell'

Mr Lister, a member of the residents' liaison committee with Defra, said he had been told that Tow Law would only be used as a last resort.

Grandmother Jean White, 63, added: "We shouldn't have to live with this. We are fighting this because we do not believe it is safe.

"We get a terrible smell in the town when the wind blows in this direction and it is all going to start again."

Earlier this year residents had managed to get the site temporarily closed after demonstrating against a steady convoy of vehicles carrying carcasses in front of their homes.

But the angry protests ended in the arrest and prosecution of six women from Tow Law on 12 May.

The National Farmers' Union said the new cases of foot-and mouth were a "deeply depressing" development for farmers.

Although Newbiggin Farm is just within the "blue box" exclusion zone, Defra has extended the boundary a further three kilometres eastwards, into County Durham in an attempt to contain the virus.

It now covers 317 square miles (821 sq km) of northern England.

Tough measures inside the zone include strict disinfection at farms, more police patrols and a freeze on animal movement licences.

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001