Two more children who attended a nursery in Dunfermline were found yesterday to be infected with E.coli 0157, making a total of seven affected by an outbreak of the potentially deadly bacteria, an NHS official said.

Dr Charles Saunders, a consultant in public health medicine, said the children were undergoing tests at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. Five other children from the nursery who were taken to Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital last week suffering from kidney failure were 'either stable or improving'.

He said that the two new cases were confirmed from samples taken from children, parents and staff at the Careshare Nursery in Dunfermline. The number of further suspected cases rose to 18 yesterday.