The foot and mouth crisis is taking its toll on people in South Craven people.

The area is uninfected by the virus but precautionary measures have left their mark.

Footpath closures in farming villages have forced people to curb their walking and re-route every day journeys.

And sport has been hit at South Craven school

Deputy head teacher David Birks says: "We had a letter from North Yorkshire County Council strongly recommending we suspend all involvement in inter-school competitions in regard to sport.

"The school has decided to adhere to that recommendation. As of yesterday our school is not participating in any inter-school fixtures or other competitions.

Cononley villager David Gulliver says: "The general public are quite inconvenienced because there's a tradition of walking in the area." Mr Gulliver feels if would be "traumatic" if a local farm got infected, as Cononley's farms are in the thick of the village itself. There would be a possibility of the whole village being sealed off if infection struck.

"I suspect some people won't have realised how serious it really is," he says.

Closure of Bradley's footpaths has increased dog fouling.

Anne Noon Bradley's KN correspondent adds: "People can't use canal paths to exercise their dogs so they are using Bradley playing fields, which is causing a problem with mess."

Cowling's duck race to raise funds for St Andrew's Playgroup has been cancelled until the crisis is over.

Craven District Council refuse collectors will now only take rubbish from the end of lanes adjoining public highways. This means those who normally have a backdoor collection need to transfer their waste to such a point.

Sutton is one of the villages from which North Yorkshire County Council has withdrawn its mobile library service.

Officers say they are reviewing the matter daily and the library will return when the crisis ends.