The church-supported Arthur Rank Centre has praised the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Westminster and a number of leading brands for raising more than £600,000 for British farmers directly affected by the latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Leading supermarkets such as ASDA, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have made substantial contributions, as have the Co-operative, Musgrave, Booths, Unilever, Cadbury Schweppes and the national food service distributor 3663.

Prince Charles personally donated £100,000 which has been matched by the Duke of Westminster Gerald Grosvenor in a move which echoes the donations both made at the time of the last Foot and Mouth outbreak in March 2001.

"Despite the very welcome lifting of some of the restrictions on animal movements and livestock markets, this remains a desperately difficult time for farmers throughout the United Kingdom," said the Prince of Wales last Friday.

"The re-emergence of foot and mouth combined with the impact of the flooding this summer - and now the cases of bluetongue - have created a real crisis which will be felt for months to come.

"I hope that this donation will make a difference for those farmers struggling to cope. They have animals to feed and bills to pay now; their feedstocks are in short supply and the future is still very uncertain. Too many farmers are on the brink."

The total donation, which will be given to farming charities, now stands at £620,000 and will be used to help directly those whose livelihoods have been most affected, especially farmers unable to sell their livestock or pay their bills and those who need advice, help and support.

Since the first outbreak of the disease in Surrey last month, farming charities have reported increasing numbers of telephone calls for help and growing levels of anxiety and stress among farmers and related occupations. Tragically, two suicides have already been reported. This situation has only worsened with the second outbreak this month.

The Rev Dr Gordon Gatward, from the Arthur Rank Centre at the Royal Agricultural Society of England said: "We are delighted by this donation. The Prince, The Duke and all the companies which have contributed deserve our deepest thanks and praise for realising the depth of the problems which some farmers are now facing.

"We may not have great pyres of burning animals but we do have a situation which is preventing many livestock farmers in this country from making a living. It is particularly gratifying that some of the big supermarket chains contributed so generously to the fund."