THE attention of farmers across Britain turned to Rogate on Sunday when a suspected case of foot- and-mouth was reported in a herd of cows. But after a tense 24 hours officials from the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that it had been a false alarm. Peter Davey, owner of Slade Farm, which was at the centre of the scare, said: "We are incredibly relieved that this was not foot-and-mouth and we hope that as soon as possible the whole foot-and-mouth situation in the south east and nationally will be under control and foot and mouth will be eliminated. "It has been a nerve-wracking 24 hours, but no different from any other farmer who has been through this, and we are pleased it wasn't foot and mouth. "Now we hope the whole situation will be resolved and then agriculture can get back to normal across the country." The nightmare began for farmers in the Rogate area when a sick cow was reported at Slade Farm, just off the A272, on Sunday night. Officials from Defra placed a three-kilometre temporary protection zone around the area and laboratory testing began. By noon on Monday it became clear that early tests had come back negative and farmers prayed it was a false alarm, but the owners of Slade Farm didn't get the all clear until Monday night. Despite the good news, West Sussex County Council urged caution. Lionel Barnard, West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for public protection, said: "I am sure that the farmer concerned will be delighted. It must have been a worrying time. "There is still a need for constant vigilance and should it become necessary all our plans and procedures are in place to work with Defra and all the other agencies." After the result was announced, Defra lifted the control zone around Rogate on Tuesday. Although a seventh case of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Engelfield Green, Surrey, on Monday it was inside the existing protection zone at Egham and means that the disease hasn't spread since the Surrey outbreak in August. Isobel Bretherton, spokesman for the National Farmers Union in the south east, said it had been a worrying time for Rogate farmers. "It is far from business as usual for farmers in general, they are under restrictions and it is crippling many farmers who are losing money. Some farmers have seen their incomes completely dry up." She said across the country £2m a day was being lost in exports. "This is a frightening figure and the NFU is pressing for the lifting of the restrictions at the earliest possible moment and is working in partnership with industry organisations towards this end." In the meantime, farmers were being advised that the livestock movements were still in force and they should check their animals twice daily and call their vets immediately if they had concerns.