Farming families recovering from the foot and mouth crisis have been treated to a royal reception by the Prince of Wales at St James Palace.

And among the 250 guests on Tuesday was ten-year-old Danielle Holmes, from Cononley, who at the height of the crisis had written to Prince Charles about the plight of the animals.

Danielle, a pupil at Glusburn Primary School, thanked him for the £500,000 he had donated to six rural charities. And she also told him about her small flock of Dorset sheep, two of which were born on Christmas Day.

Her mother, Adrienne, 50, who runs a smallholding, said: "We showed the Prince the picture of the lambs. He said he had a minority breed of Cotswolds and he commented about how he didn't know how he would have reacted had the disease hit his land. He had been dreading it as much as everybody else."

Other guests included farmers from Coniston Cold and Buckden, near Skipton, and unsung heroes like vets, community volunteers and army personnel.

Prince Charles spent about two hours talking to them about their experiences.

Britain last week regained its official status as a country free of foot and mouth disease, but some farmers in the Skipton area have still not completed their disinfection.