Cull spreads as the contagion grows

The foot-and-mouth crisis that has brought British farming to a virtual standstill had spread right across the country yesterday and could even have reached mainland Europe, as desperate efforts to contain the virus appeared to have failed.

Despite mass slaughter of infected animals, the West Country, Britain's biggest livestock region, joined Northumberland and Essex as a centre of infection, and the situation grew grimmer still when it was learnt that the Devon farmer concerned was a regular exporter of livestock to Europe.

Five farms and abattoirs were yesterday put on high alert by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff), including the first suspected case in Wales. A sheep found with symptoms of the disease at an abattoir at Gaerwen, Anglesey, is being tested.

Last night the operation to incinerate thousands of infected animals got into full swing as diesel-soaked carcasses were piled high and burned under the supervision of Maff officials on the ill-fated farms in Essex and Northumberland.

A spokesman for the 20 Maff officials organising the overnight bonfires on a farm in Little Warley, Essex, said: "It's an extraordinary job. Some of our staff have been working 15-hour days." Earlier, the Government's senior vet in the South-west said there could now be a crisis on the scale of the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 1967, in which nearly 500,000 animals were slaughtered.

As Maff officials tried yesterday to trace all recent shipments abroad by the sheep and cattle dealer William Cleave, of Burdon Farm at Highampton, Devon, the Minister of Agriculture, Nick Brown, was forced to inform the European Commission that infected sheep might have been transported to the Continent. Commission officials immediately alerted the 14 other EU countries – including France, where most of Mr Cleave's sheep were exported.

Mr Brown will fly to Brussels tonightto meet other European agriculture ministers in what was due to be a routine meeting but has now taken on a dramatic, new significance. He will appeal for other EU governments to act swiftly if there are any signs that foot-and-mouth has spread from the UK. Belgium has already banned the transport of all sheep and goats. Before leaving, Mr Brown will make an emergency statement to Parliament on the prospect that, despite the national livestock movement ban, the disease has been exported across the Channel.

Maff experts have been studying the Devon farm's records to see where it sent its sheep. A spokesman said: "We should know for certain in a couple of days the seriousness of the situation we face."

Mr Brown admitted: "This is a serious development – there's no denying that. But it does confirm we were absolutely right to put the movement restriction in place when we did."

The Devon outbreak was greeted with dismay by farmers. "This is nothing other than a catastrophe – it is the worst possible news for an area such as ours," said Ian Johnson, spokesman for the National Farmers' Union in the South-west, where about 220,000 tonnes of meat a year, worth an estimated £800m, are produced.

The outbreak at Burdon, one of 13 farms run by Mr Cleave, was the seventh confirmed so far in the current crisis, although by yesterday restrictions had been placed on 23 farms. The source of the outbreak – first identified in Little Warley, Essex, a week ago – is thought to be a pig-fattening unit at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. The Government's chief veterinary officer, Jim Scudamore, said that up until yesterday, 450 cattle, 1,300 pigs and 250 sheep had been culled at the first six sites.

Three royal parks were shut at midnight to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading to deer herds. Richmond Park, Bushy Park and Hampton Court Home Park, all in south-west London, were closed to the public, with restricted access for residents. The move came after the closure of several zoos, the suspension of hunting and appeals by the Government for the public to stay away from farms with livestock.

With Maff struggling to prevent the outbreak becoming an epidemic, another 2,000 animals on Burdon Farm face culling. Mass incinerations at Northumberland and Essex began last night. At Heddon-on-the-Wall, pig carcasses were piled into a ditch of blazing coal, straw and railway sleepers. Once the process is completed, the ash from the fire will be buried at the farm.

One piece of good news for the Government was that fears of panic-buying at supermarkets appeared to be unfounded, with Tesco reporting no problems with meat availability.