Disease across Surrey

How the dark shadow of disease fell across Surrey

                  Already hit by the weeks of heavy rains, farmers near Guildford were stunned by the news that the feared cattle disease has struck in their midst. Officials acted swiftly, but were they in time?          

                        David Smith
Sunday    August    5, 2007
The Observer
         
             

'Police line - do not cross.' This was the stark message written on tape that turned swaths of the Surrey countryside into a no-go area yesterday. For motorists, it was an irritation. For farmers, it spelt something potentially a lot worse.

After a wet June and July, they were already facing a pressured August and were grateful for a turn in the weather. But the sunshine that baked the rolling fields in temperatures nearing 30C belied the long shadow cast by the return of foot and mouth disease.

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It was last Thursday evening that symptoms were spotted in 30 of a herd of several dozen cows grazing on land near the village of Normandy, near Guildford, and reported to the local animal health office. Vets examined the animals and alerted the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which carried out tests which proved positive. Foot and mouth was back in Britain.

A three-kilometre (two-mile) protection zone was set up and all animal movement stopped. Since then, farmers in the area, who escaped the outbreak which swept Britain six years ago, have had to sit and wait, hoping that the scourge does not reach them this time.

Motorists attempting to enter the zone were confronted by police cars and officers explaining they would have to seek another route as two helicopters clattered overhead. It is thought that around 60 cattle were being put down - aerial pictures on television showed men in white bodysuits and gloves striding across a field towards animals.

The land where the infected animals were found is understood to be a beef fattening farm owned by Derrick and Roger Pride, whose main property, Woolfords Farm, is about five miles away in the village of Elstead. The pair sell prime beef direct to the public from their butcher shop, Prides. Access to Woolfords Farm was also blocked. A woman who answered the phone at the farm said she knew that Derrick Pride was talking to police.

Nearby in Godalming, Roger Wakeling, who runs butcher's CH Wakeling, said: 'I am very concerned for my own farmer. At the moment it's not affecting us, but we do not know where this is going to end.'

Other local farmers and residents refused to give information out of solidarity. One, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We own horses opposite the land but they're not in danger. The police are letting us look after them, but we can't do anything with them today. I'm concerned about the farmers; it's devastating for them. They're obviously trying to find out where it came from. Fortunately there are only a few small holdings of livestock around here, as it's mainly horses and crops.'

The manager of Truxford Farm, just outside a six-mile surveillance zone, gave his name as Jason, aged 30, and said: 'We are taking all the necessary precautions, as is everyone here. For farmers it is worrying because it's their livelihoods. This could spread across the south-east or it could be contained. Only time will tell.'

Other farmers in the area said foot and mouth had not reached the area in 2001 and spoke of their anxiety, but praised the speed of the government response. They remained cautiously optimistic that the disease could be contained. Mike Giffin, who owns 100 beef cattle and 100 cows in Reigate, said: 'I heard about it last night and it fills you with dread, because you think it's so close. It's worrying in the summer when you've got all the cattle out in the field.

'We're under so much pressure because of the wet June and July. All the work has been concertinaed into August: the haymaking, silage-making and harvesting. The ban on movement of animals is already another setback.'

Giffin, who is chairman of the Surrey branch of the National Farmers Union, added: 'We've had to increase biosecurity on the farm and put signs up warning the public to be vigilant. We're hoping this will die down and it will be an isolated incident. I have no idea how it could have started; absolutely in the dark.'

There was no obvious sense of panic down the winding lanes as farmers sat tight and played the waiting game. Ben Broom, who owns 150 sheep and some cattle on a farm near Dorking, said: 'We're waiting to see what the next steps are. We're taking the usual precautions in biosecurity: cleaning vehicle tyres and undersides and boots. I haven't got a clue how it started.'

'Of course, it's worrying for everyone involved close by and for farmers all over the country. It's a bit like me saying you can't deliver the newspapers from your print works for the next seven days. But most people think the government has acted quickly to put measures in place. Fingers crossed that they can jump on it fairly quickly, isolate it and stamp on it.'

The NFU is haunted by memories of the 2001 outbreak, which led to the slaughter of between 6.5 million and 10 million animals and cost the economy an estimated £8.5bn. John Archer, NFU environment and land use adviser in the south-east, said: 'This is a bolt out of the blue. We're hoping that the rapid and decisive action will be enough to do the job. The next 48 hours will be crucial.

'Everybody is worried - you've got to be. By taking it seriously as early as possible we can hopefully nip it in the bud. Memories of the last time are fresh and we don't want to go through that again. This is being handled differently.'

Drivers travelling between Guildford and surrounding villages continued as on any other Saturday until they attempted to turn down Westwood Lane and met a police barrier beside St Mark's Wyke Church. Anyone who continued on foot found a normally serene road: on the left, a field, on the right, bungalows, barns and stables. In their midst yesterday were a growing number of television vans and reporters.

'I was quite shocked because nothing happens around here,' said Sadie Ogden. 'I was watching telly and saw someone standing outside somewhere, but didn't realise it was just down the road.'

Neighbour Helen Phillips, 37, said: 'We were watching the news at about half past 10. I looked it up on the Defra website and realised we were right in the middle of it. I'm not worried because I know it can't transfer to humans. But I feel sorry for the farmers.'