Livestock is about to return to the farm where foot and mouth was first detected in Oxfordshire.

Farmer Clive Hawes said he hoped to take sheep on to Grange Farm, Little Chesterton, near Bicester, this week, once paperwork allowing him to move the animals was finalised.

Forty sheep were moved on to land at South Hinksey, Oxford, which Mr Hawes also farms, a week ago.

About 1,000 sheep from both holdings were destroyed in March, after the disease was diagnosed.

Mr Hawes said he received a "fair settlement" from the Government for the loss of his animals, but had lost income in the meantime and was looking forward to rearing animals again.

"One does survive," he said. "The sooner you can start to get a turnover going again, the sooner the business starts to flourish - or not."

He said there was still a vast amount that needed to be done by the Government to regain markets for British meat to get the industry back on its feet.

He intended to move 100 to 200 sheep to Little Chesterton. His animals will be inspected by Maff each week.

The farm will be declared disease-free if tests taken after a month are negative.

Last week, a row erupted when chief vet Jim Scudamore said animals had been slaughtered that did not test positive. Mr Hawes said he believed his animals did have the disease, and he supported Maff's approach.

He added: "We are under a policy of being foot and mouth free in this country. There's only one way to be foot and mouth free and that's to cull the live- stock."