THE Government's chief scientist has predicted that foot-and-mouth disease could be completely eradicated by August.

There have been no new cases in Worcestershire for more than two weeks.

But the Ministry of Agriculture is continuing to warn the public against being complacent in case of a second wave of outbreaks.

"There's still a lot of work to do," said a MAFF spokesman.

"The primary task is still making sure we're on top of it.

"We must remain vigilant.

"There were only three cases nationally on Thursday and it's easy to think that we're getting over it.

"Life here goes on in much the same way."

More than 102,000 carcases have been buried at Throckmorton, near Pershore, and thousands more have been disposed of on farms and at rendering plants.

The Green Howards Infantry Regiment are still being housed at the Territorial Army barracks at Silver Street, Worcester.

They work at the burial site in the operations room, at the Regional Ministry of Agriculture offices at Whittington Road, Worcester, and on the ground, as liaison teams.

"The whole system is going smoothly," said Capt George Griffin.

"With the lull in cases we've been able to make sure that all our data is correct and see that everything that needs to be done is being done."

Hundreds of people work behind the scenes at the Whittington Road offices.

As well as a base for the Army, it is home to the helpline that thousands of farmers and other concerned members of the public have been ringing since the crisis began.

"It has been very stressful," said one worker.

"We have had hundreds of calls about welfare issues, as well as what farmers are allowed to do.

"The first few weeks was just for information, now we've got different questions coming in.

"People tend to think that everything is MAFF's fault."