Farming practices were today highlighted as aggravating the spread of foot and mouth in the Settle area, as the number of current reported cases climbed to 27 over the weekend.

While experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) fought to stop the latest cluster of infections expanding, they revealed how the disease had spread so far.

They said that 14 of the first 20 cases in the Settle cluster had been linked by the movement of people, vehicles or the licensed movement of livestock.

As well as 27 cases in North Yorkshire, MAFF said there were a further three in the Clitheroe area of Lancashire.

A joint statement issued by MAFF's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor David King, and Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore, said: "We are now in a position to explain how foot and mouth has spread in the Settle area.

"The spread of the disease has, inadvertently, been exacerbated by the nature of farming practices in the area.

"Many farms have parcels of land away from the home premises, including some fell and moorland. Consequently there have been many movements of people, vehicles and equipment, as well as some 350 licensed animal movements, to carry out normal animal husbandry and working practices within the area.

"All licensed movements have, of course, now stopped within the Settle area."

The Bank Holiday weekend saw many people staying away from the normally popular tourist attractions in and around Settle. Yvonne Fortune from Settle Tourist Information said the area had been very quiet during what was usually one of the area's busiest weekends of the year. "Accommodation is well down and there are few visitors about," she said.

Scott Littlewood, head chef at The Black Horse Hotel in Giggleswick near Settle, said they had been quiet and some visitors, who would normally have come up for walking over the Bank Holiday weekend, had cancelled.

"Fortunately we have had a few MAFF people staying with us which has helped, but on Sunday we had two chefs standing about doing nothing," he said.

It is believed the source of the latest Settle outbreak was through a single infection of sheep at a local farm at an earlier stage in the epidemic. Seven new cases of foot and mouth were confirmed nationwide yesterday, bringing the total number of cases in Britain to 1,660.