As the battle against foot-and-mouth disease continues across the country, a North Yorkshire farming family tell of their fears for the future.

A man is hosing down his green wellies in the farmyard at the Sowray family's farm.

He is the Ministry of Agriculture vet - and he has just given the farm's pigs the all-clear.

The Sowrays got a visit because three sows they sold at Thirsk Market at the beginning of February ended up at Cheale Meats abbatoir in Essex, where evidence of foot-and-mouth disease was first found last Monday.

So Humberton Farm, between Helperby and Boroughbridge, became one of 600 across the country to be inspected.

Although the all-clear was obviously good news for the Sowrays, it has by no means allayed their worries about more troubles ahead for the farming industry, particularly pig farmers.

They won't be able to sell any pigs this week, along with farmers across the country, and when they do they are worried that the fragile price of pork will once again have dropped.

At the same time they are holding their breath as Ministry officials try to halt the spread of the disease.

The Sowrays have been farming for generations and have been at Humberton since 1926.

Father Stephen was born in the house. His two sons are Jonathan, who looks after the pigs, and David, who looks after the arable side.

Over the last three years, they have had to cut their staff by half, from eight to four workers.

Jonathan said: "It's been a tough two-and-a-half years. Last week we could see some light at the end of the tunnel. Prices had gone up and we were hoping they would go up again. Then this happened.

"With pigs you have got to sell them every week, if they are over a certain weight they are worth very little. Everybody's very worried."

His brother added: "It seems to be one thing after another. Swine fever before Christmas, two years of terrible prices before that and we've been flooded three times since June."

They said finding symptoms of foot-and-mouth could be the end for many pig farmers.

"For the vast majority of pig farmers, that would be the final nail in the coffin," said Jonathan.

"If you get it, it's six months before you can have a pig on the premises again. If you buy a young sow, it's another ten months before you can sell a pig."

David said: "The Government would compensate you, but you would have lost income. The best chance we've got is to keep trading and hope pig prices improve."

They said they had been told that Ministry of Agriculture vets would be surprised to find any symptoms in Yorkshire, but they were still worried about the spread of the disease.

It can be carried for miles through the air, by animals like rats, foxes, badgers, deer and hedgehogs, by horses, dogs and people.

Updated: 10:05 Monday, February 26, 2001