THE New Forest is at the centre of the latest outbreak of the animal disease bluetongue.

The bluetongue protection zone has been extended after a new case of the disease was confirmed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

A case identified in the New Forest district means the zone, out of which the movement of susceptible animals is not permitted, has now been extended into Wiltshire and further into Hampshire.

The wider surveillance zone, which covers much of England, remains unchanged.

Defra said the disease was identified in a cow as part of pre-movement tests required for moving livestock out of the zones during the "vector-free period" when risk of the disease spreading was low. The vector-free period ended on March 15.

A Defra spokesman said the evidence suggested that the cow was infected with the disease, which can kill animals including sheep and cattle, last year.

There have now been 122 cases of bluetongue in the UK since the disease was first discovered near Ipswich, Suffolk last September, 56 of which have been identified this year.

Last month bluetongue was found in a single cow during routine testing at an Upton farm.