WHILE Foot and Mouth cripples the county's farms, it has caused a profit surge for an East Lancashire company that sell disinfectant.

Option Hygiene, Riverside Industrial Estate, Nelson, has sold 500 per cent more disinfectant since the outbreak. It would normally be a small part of their business, dwarfed by the sale of basic chemicals and toilet paper. But since the outbreak of the disease they have sold 100 25-litre-steel drums at £15 and another 50 of the disinfectant solution.

Philip Preston, of Option Hygiene, said: "It is the farmers who buy it -- they tell one another. I feel sorry for the farmers, we do not push the product and wouldn't dream of putting the price up."

The company also provided the disinfectant for the Grand National at Aintree last Saturday, as well as for race meetings at Haydock. They said they had not took any extra staff on during the crisis.

The Open Spaces Society have given walkers a code to follow to ensure that footpaths stay re-opened.

The Government relaxed bans on some areas where Ministry of Agriculture veterinary scientists assessed there was little risk, but the group is fearful that irresponsibility could see restrictions re-imposed.

They offer the following advice:

avoid contact with sheep, cows, goats, and pigs

do not enter enclosed fields with sheep, cows, goats, pigs or farmed deer. If you come across them, walk away slowly retracing your steps.

do not leave litter and clean your boots and vehicles after each visit to the countryside

keep all dogs on a lead and do not take them on land with sheep, cows, goats or pigs.