A FIFTH case of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in Worcestershire.

Eighteen cattle and 300 sheep were being valued this morning before being slaughtered at Lodge Ford Hill, The Woodlands, Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster.

The outbreak at the farm, owned by the Meredith family, is the second case confirmed in the village.

"We're not making any comment at the moment," said a family member. "We're awaiting the valuers and the animals could possibly be put down today."

The infection has been linked to a case involving farmer Robin Feakins, whose cattle were kept at Longmore Farm, Longmore, Chaddesley Corbett.

The chairman of the Worcestershire NFU, Richard Jordan, was relieved to hear that the Meredith's livestock would be slaughtered quickly.

Previous infected livestock have not been slaughtered and destroyed for a matter of days.

"It's taking the Government a long time to wake up to the need to slaughter quickly," said Mr Jordan, who has a sheep and poultry farm in Inkberrow.

He said that he was a friend of the Merediths but had yet to speak to them about their foot-and-mouth outbreak.

"Some people just don't want to talk about it," he said. "In some ways it's like waiting for the executioner. It can also be likened to bereavement."

News of the Chaddesley Corbett outbreak came as experts predicated that cases could emerge for another four months, with the effects of the disease lasting until the end of the year.

The Rural Response Team, set up in conjunction with development agency Advantage West Midlands, met yesterday to discuss the effects of the disease and how to handle the crisis, which is affecting many different industries.

The Team has drawn up a five-point action plan to help businesses which rely on the countryside to survive.

The plan includes directing help for individuals facing hardship, as well as providing reliable and practical information for tourists.

6 Elsewhere, the Army has been called in to help dispose of animals slaughtered in Devon.

But it is unlikely that they could be used in Worcestershire, as the disease is not as widespread.

Twenty-three more cases were confirmed last night, bringing the total in Great Britain to 348.