SHADOW agriculture minister Owen Paterson MP was in Okehampton on Tuesday, when he met West Devon farmers to hear about the crisis posed by bovine TB.

Mr Paterson visited Northlew, where he met Okehampton and Hatherleigh NFU chairman Paul Griffiths on his farm. Mr Griffiths' dairy cattle have been under restrictions for the last four years due to TB — he lost one of his herd as recently as yesterday (Wednesday).

Mr Griffiths said: 'I was fairly impressed with him. He made a lot of notes — he certainly listened and said he could probably add to his 328 questions in the House.

'It's always good to have someone raise the profile of the problem — and it's a very serious issue for us here. All in all, I was very positive about his visit.'

Following his visit, Mr Paterson met other farmers affected by the TB problem at an open meeting in the Charter Hall, Okehampton.He warned the future of the region's livestock faced serious risk without positive action.

Mr Paterson said: 'This is a major national problem — for the people here, it is a crisis. We need a managed, sustainable wildlife population and a healthy cattle population.

'A vaccination would be a dream solution, but this is not Never Never Land. A solution needs to be reached now with the materials we have, before it's too late.'

Mr Paterson was accompanied by Geoffrey Cox, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesmen for Torridge and West Devon. The meetings were organised by the local branch of the NFU.

Mr Cox said the visit was part of a 'national campaign to draw attention to the plight of farms affected by the plight of bovine TB' and he said West Devon had been chosen for the launch of the campaign as it was a 'hot spot' for the disease.

Mr Cox said figures showed the problem of TB in cattle appeared to be growing by as much as 20 percent a year, with many farms being closed down after TB is discovered in a herd.

He said: 'Farmers have been telling us they are in a crisis. They can't wait any longer for a vaccine or for the results of the Krebs trials, which can't be trusted anyway. Many farms in West Devon are facing a situation as bad as foot and mouth.'

Mr Paterson's visit to Okehampton took place on the day that he put down the largest number of written questions ever asked in the House of Commons on the same subject.