Parents have voiced their continued support for a nursery at the centre of an outbreak of the life-threatening bug e-coli after an investigation into its cause wound down.

The infection hit 13 children and one adult at Busy Bears nursery in Broughton Road, Skipton, which was closed for 12 days. Five of the children needed hospital treatment.

North Yorkshire Health Protection Service, which spearheaded the investigation, declared the outbreak closed on Monday.

Parents arriving yesterday morning said they were very happy to be bringing their children back.

Sarah Seastron, of Hellifield, whose three-year-old son Thomas Windle attends the school, said: "I'm very happy with the situation. I'm sure it wasn't the nursery's fault.

"If it had been, it would have spread like wildfire and it didn't."

And Paul Barker, of Eshton, near Gargrave, who was bringing his toddler son, said: "The outbreak was not a fault of the nursery.

"This is an excellent nursery and I'm perfectly happy bringing him back."

Other parents who wished not to be identified said they were confident about returning with their children and believed the outbreak was not the fault of the nursery.

It was closed on Wednesday, November 27 and an investigation launched by NYHPS (North Yorkshire Health Protection Service) and involving Craven District Council environmental health department.

The 21 staff, 99 nursery school pupils and 43 pupils aged under 11 who attend the after-school club underwent two rounds of screening.

Dr Ebere Okereke, NYHPS consultant in communicable disease control, said: "All the second round tests have been completed. We didn't pick up any new cases."

The source of the outbreak had not been discovered which was not an unusual situation, she said. Children were now back at school and the outbreak had been declared closed.