Sailors drafted in to cull operation

Despite protests, nothing has stopped the burials at Epynt in mid Wales

The disposal of carcasses in mid Wales is due to be stepped up with the drafting in of more Armed Forces personnel.

A team of 80 Royal Navy sailors from HMS Sultan are due to arrive in Brecon to help dispose of thousands of animals linked to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

A further 100 soldiers from the Household Cavalry are also being called in to assist the operation in mid Wales.

Meanwhile in north Wales, MAFF officials hope to begin the final stages of culling 40,000 animals on Anglesey.

Crisis in Wales

Total confirmed cases UK-wide 1025 - with 61 in Wales

Powys - 36 cases

Anglesey - 13 cases

Monmouthshire - 12 cases

An estimated 90% of the animals connected to the outbreak on the island have been destroyed.

Earlier, Welsh Rural Affairs Carwyn Jones refuted claims that a lorry carrying carcasses to a disposal site had shed part of its load after taking a wrong turn.

Residents around the Epynt mountain range in mid Wales, claim they saw fluid leaking from the vehicle are demanding safety procedures be tightened up.

There have been worries about infected carcasses being brought into an area so far unaffected by the disease, and protesters are calling for animals to be buried where they are slaughtered.

Following the scare on Thursday night, Carwyn Jones has insisted that it was disinfectant that was seen falling from the back of the lorry.

A total of 59 cases have been confirmed in Wales

Problems began just hours after the first lorries carrying carcasses past the protesters and went up on to the Epynt ranges.

After disposing of its load at the burial ground and making its way through several small villages, the driver had to stop to ask the way.

"When the lorry stopped the driver was petrified, he didn't know where on earth he was, he was completely lost," said Councillor Evan Morgan.

"Then he moved off afterwards, having had the route explained to him, the fluid came out of the back of that lorry."

The Ministry of Defence has said it has now improved the signs on the site. Dyfed-Powys Police met with protesters this morning and stressed that the fluid seen coming from the lorry was disinfectant and water.

The Ministry of Defence has also said it has now improved the signs on the site

"The Epynt is a very large place. We have warned against this," said resident Chris Waterhouse.

"All the locals have said how large and difficult it is to find your way around, and I think the authorities do need to tighten up their controls on the movements of these lorries."

Concern over the transport of carcasses has spread to Carmarthenshire County Council.

Police have been on duty it Epynt in case of problems

The authority is seeking assurances from the assembly, Maff, and the Environment Agency that everything will be done to protect the county from the disease as a result of the disposal exercise at nearby Epynt.

Council leader Meryl Gravell said :"This site is so close to our county boundary that we must make our voice heard and support our farmers and residents in that area to ensure that whatever is done there is safe."

On Anglesey in north Wales, the equally controversial cull and disposal of 40,000 animals linked to the foot-and-mouth outbreak is nearing an end.

Officials have said that 37,000 livestock will have been culled by the end of Friday.

Elsewhere in Wales, two lorry drivers have been fined a total of £4,000 plus £3,000 costs by Ludlow Magistrates for failing to disinfect their vehicles properly.

Christopher Robert Thomas and his son Robert James Thomas from Beguildy, near Knighton in Powys were also fined £500 each for not maintaining their vehicles properly. Both had denied the charges.