Originally from: Molly Maxwell
                        
"We've fallen off edge of precipice" Aug 28 2001

It is hard for Marjorie Maughan to describe her feelings. This time last week she had every reason to believe that her farm had escaped the ravages of foot-and-mouth and she could possibly look forward to a future in farming.

Now that she has just seen her sheep and cattle destroyed after being one of the eight cases diagnosed in the Allendale disease hotspot, her future is very uncertain.

The return of foot-and-mouth in isolated pockets had long been predicted, but in Allendale – a small, tight-knit community unlucky enough to be the place where that return actually took place – the effect has been devastating.

"It's like living in a nightmare," said one villager yesterday.

For Mrs Maughan, who has farmed at Low Mill for 36 years, the past few days have been a jumble of emotions.

She said: "We always knew that it could flare up again, we'd been told that it was likely to come back and it could happen anywhere. Unfortunately, that anywhere was here and it's been an absolute nightmare.

"Today it's over as far as I'm concerned, but what happens tomorrow? Right now the adrenalin is flowing because there's been so much happening and so much to think about, so to get it over with is something of a relief. You knew the phone call was coming, but the waiting was awful.

"People are devastated here, and it's not just the farmers. It's horrendous, and I wouldn't want anybody to have to live through it."

Two more cases of foot-and-mouth were confirmed in the Allendale area yesterday, and two more suspected cases of the disease are being investigated. Another 20 farms have been classed as contiguous cases and will have their animals culled.

Among the farms are at least two which had animals taken out last April because they were classed as close contacts with infected premises on the other side of Hexhamshire Common. David Smith, the chairman of the National Sheep Association who lives at nearby Haydon Bridge, has spoken to some of the farmers concerned and said that the agony of seeing animals culled twice was almost beyond description.

He said: "Some of the farmers are devastated. People were traumatised when they lost their sheep in April and thought they'd at least managed to keep their cattle.

"There seemed to be a chink of light at the end of the tunnel, and now that's gone.

"I'm very worried for farmers around here because it's so hard to get information about what's happening. We've been told we're in a blue box, but what does that mean?"

In an effort to control the outbreak within the Allendale area, stringent controls are being put in place involving disinfectant mats and restrictions on the movement of livestock.

The outbreak has brought life in Allendale almost to a standstill, even outside the farming community. One couple in Catton, a village at the top of the East Allen valley, are considering cancelling their baby's christening for a second time because visitors were due to come from around the country.

The rector of Allendale the Rev Judith Hampson – who is also honorary chaplain of Northumberland NFU – has received many worried phone calls over the past four days, and said that people in the area were very concerned about what would happen next.

She said: "Frightened is the word I would use. The hardest thing is coping with the uncertainty. It's the not knowing that's affecting farmers and friends alike. We've fallen off the edge of the precipice. You just can't believe that it's happening, it's like being hit by a brick."