A BRIDESTOWE couple, who have suffered a double blow from the foot and month crisis, have criticised MAFF for taking four days to notify them of an outbreak next door.

Phil and Jo Down, of Little Bidlake Farm, are disgusted that no instructions came forward from MAFF following the confirmation of foot and mouth next door at Great Bidlake Farm on Friday.

'We have had our own restrictions in place for some time but it is different when the disease is next door to you,' said Mr Down.

'I had sheep looking over the hedge into the infected farm and up until Tuesday Great Bidlake sheep were still out in the field.

'We eventually had a call on Tuesday morning from MAFF to say we were within a three kilometre exclusion zone of a confirmed outbreak.'

Mr Down, who has a few sheep and 120 cattle, said MAFF had been playing catch up from day one of the foot and mouth crisis and delays had been caused by 'red tape and bureaucracy.'

'There is a feeling in the whole community at the moment of fear and apprehension — everybody is fully aware that the whole rural infrastructure is at risk,' he said.

'There is not a sound in the countryside — with no tractors and no-one taking stock out, there is an eery silence.'

The farmer has suffered a double whammy due to cancelled bookings for the holiday accommodation on his farm — Little Bidlake offers six bed and breakfast places and has four self-catering units. It can also take up to ten horses brought by owners.

Mr Down said that in this communication age there should be up-to-date readily accessible information. 'MAFF promised regular 48 hour visits to farms at risk but I have seen no evidence of this yet,' he added.

'I have no criticism of the guys on the front line who are doing a great job — the strain is now really starting to show on their faces and I am not surprised, the goalposts seem to change all the time.'

With a pre-emptive cull of thousands of healthy animals taking place in Dumfries and Galloway to stop the spread of the disease, Mr Down said it might be the only way to go in Devon.

'Desperate times require desperate measures,' he said. 'It is with a heavy heart that I say it but maybe it is for the best.'