An inquiry into the epidemic was held by Cumbria County Council in May - it looked at how the virus affected farming, tourism, and business in the area.

The inquiry was headed by Professor Phil Thomas - his team was expected to report to the council by the end of July.

An interim report will be published on 25 July with the full reprt delayed until August.

The delay is disappointing as we want to see the results of the inquiry come out

Veronica Waller, NFU Cumbria

The inquiry heard evidence from local farmers, residents, businesses, and held a number of open days for members of the public to put their points of view.

This month the Royal Society's scientific review of the outbreak is due, as is the Anderson inquiry findings into the lessons to be learned from the crisis.

Veronica Waller, National Farmers' Union policy advisor for Cumbria, told BBC News Online: "The delay is disappointing as we want to see the results of the inquiry come out.

"The county council inquiry was something we found very useful, as it focused specifically on Cumbria.

"The other inquiries that visited Cumbria only spent a few days here, but the inquiry under Professor Thomas was all about talking to people in Cumbria who understood the county.

"There were a number of open days, and the team spoke to various groups of people and did a very thorough job."