THIS time of year Princetown is usually populated by wandering weekenders and coach parties pulling up for traditional cream teas. Now it is a ghost town.

'We don't see any coaches. We don't see anyone except morbid people who want to see the fires,' said Pat Cramp, of the Fox Tor Cafe.

A fortnight ago some walkers came in for refreshment — having walked across the moor from Belstone.

'The notices were up but they said no one had told them they mustn't walk. I said it was common sense.

'Becase we don't want to spread the disease we'd rather people stayed away. But we need them to pay the bills. Which side are we supposed to be on?'

Mrs Cramp said the coach parties had stopped coming —although the passengers don't go on the moors, simply call in for a coffee and drive on.

On the recent Sunday when it snowed the Fox Tor till rang to the desultory tune of £15.

'It should have been busy, busy, busy and all we did was four cream teas and a couple of pots of tea.'

Monday morning saw the cafe totally devoid of customers except for two locals who came in for breakfast.

'We buy bacon and ham and cheese, and bread and butter just in case. We cannot afford to keep throwing a pile of food away.

'The cash and carry will suffer and the suppliers will suffer.

'We open the shop, light the fire but if we didn't have the little shop in the cafe we'd close and go home,' said Mrs Cramp.

Heather Stanley who runs the village post office said business in the village had been quiet.

'Several Sundays ago we had a bit of snow on the ground and normally the place would have been heaving. Instead you could have shot a gun down the street and not hit anybody,' she said.

Mrs Stanley said it was a good thing people were not walking on Dartmoor — although not from the business side.

'But as regards keeping foot and mouth contained we wholeheartedly support the restrictions.

'We don't want to see the total devastation of the animals on the moor. If they slaughtered everything that would be the end of Dartmoor,' she said.