Natural England

On Friday 3rd August Foot and Mouth Disease was confirmed on a beef farm near Guildford, in Surrey.

Natural England is working closely with Defra to provide advice on access to the countryside. Whilst a Protection Zone of 3km has been set up by Defra around the confirmed site, experience of the 2001 outbreak means that further access restrictions will be only be applied where justified by the disease risk. Access to the countryside and in particular to footpaths, will only be restricted within the Protection Zones (PZ) (areas of minimum 3km around an infected premises).

We will continue to update our website on this issue as more information becomes available. For further details on the situation in Surrey please visit the Defra website.

For press enquiries please contact the Natural England press office on 0845 603 9953 or for out of office hours enquiries please call: 07970 098005.