Foot-and-mouth pig test 'clear'

The pig being tested for the disease has a blistered nose

Tests on a pig suspected of having foot and mouth disease have produced negative results.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said tests were carried out on a pig at Cheale Meats abattoir near Brentwood, Essex.

The abattoir was initially closed but later reopened, and a ban on livestock movements within a five mile radius was lifted after further negative tests.

Defra said tests also did not indicate swine vesicular disease was present.

The BBC Radio 4 programme, Farming Today, said samples from the pig, which had a blistered nose, had been sent to the Institute of Animal Health laboratories in Surrey.

A routine inspection at Cheale Meats in February 2001 found signs of foot-and-mouth disease in 27 pigs.