A SUSPECTED case of foot and mouth disease is being investigated in Medmenham and an eight-kilometre exclusion zone affecting around 60 farms has been placed around the area.

The movement of animals within this area is now prohibited and no person can enter or leave Bockmer Farm without permission.

A sample from the suspected animal has been taken and results are expected over the weekend.

The news came through on Wednesday morning after a government vet carried out an inspection of cattle on the farm.

The case is being closely monitored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and Buckinghamshire County Council.

The council has been busy putting up signs warning people that they are entering an area which may be affected.

If the case is confirmed an "infected area" will be declared and further restrictions will be imposed within a 10km radius of the farm.

The owner of the farm, Bob Newman, declined to comment.

Other farms in the area have also felt the effects of the nationwide outbreak.

Sally Philp, of Town Farm in Bisham, said: "We can't get our lambs to slaughter because the slaughterhouses are full. It is costing us a lot of money and we are spending a lot of time running round the country feeding our livestock.

"I am not at all confident that it won't reach here you can't be confident of anything."

Odds Farm Park, in Wooburn Common, had to lay off 12 of its 17 permanent staff in the wake of the outbreak and owner Steve Vinden said prospects were bleak.

Margaret Dewar, Buckinghamshire County Council's cabinet member for the countryside, thanked members of the public for co-operating with the closure of country parks and public footpaths near farmland.

She said: "Most people accept the need to do everything we can to avoid spreading foot and mouth and are staying away from footpaths which have been closed and I want to thank them very much for that.

"However, it is disappointing that some people are still ignoring notices banning use of footpaths."

Further information is available on the MAFF website at www.maff.gov.uk or by calling the hotline on 0845 0504141