A family-run business which sells green top milk is the latest to be hit by the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Knowle Top Farm, in Sutton, has a herd of 50 Fresian cows and supplies unpasteurised milk to homes across the district.

But it has halted deliveries after the Government ruled that sales of the milk should be stopped during the current agricultural crisis.

Doug Jeffrey, who inherited the business from father James and now runs it with his sons, says: "We got word through from Bradford council and MAFF who said we had to stop selling green top.

"It isn't because of any threat to people who consume it. It is more to do with the possibility of cats and dogs drinking it and passing it on to other animals.

"We are having to buy silver top and we are losing profits because we are having to bring it in.

"The green top is going to the tanker but we don't get any real price on it because of the narrow margins in milk retail.

"When we had the outbreak in 1967 we just continued delivering it, but there seems to be a lot more precautions this time."

Mary Ward, who works for the Council for the Protection of Rural England, says: "I think it is sad and worrying that one of these unique local services has been hit by this outbreak.

"Green top is unique to the Pennines and is one of the really good sources for cheeses, particular to this area."