Agriculture chiefs are to probe claims that a call centre near Keighley was unable to provide expert advice to farmers during the foot and mouth crisis.

IMS at Steeton is at the centre of an investigation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) following revelations in a national newspaper.

A staff reporter on the newspaper managed to get a job at the call centre and obtained inside information on how the service was being run.

In his report he claimed that farmers, who were contacting a helpline, were being fobbed off with inadequate information.

An IMS spokesman said the allegations were "without foundation".

A MAFF spokeswoman said they had launched an investigation.

She said the company had been recruited by the British Cattle Movement Service, set up during the BSE crisis to monitor the movement of cattle, to help deal with the overflow of inquiries received as a result of foot and mouth.

"It's very important that any of the calls received get an accurate service," she said."We have launched an investigation and will take whatever action is necessary to correct the situation."

She said MAFF was concerned that it appeared that someone had been able to join the call centre staff, but was not adequately qualified.

A National Farmers Union spokesman said that because of the scale of the inquiries, people unfamiliar with farming had been set on to deal with some issues.

An IMS spokesman said it had conducted a full investigation into the press allegations.

He said: "The company has established that the allegations are completely without foundation."