FARMER Richard Drinkall is helping lead the way in a rural revolution.

As East Lancashire was being battered by the ravages of foot and mouth disease Richard realised that the future of his farm lay in diversification.

And the transition has been so spectacular that the farm is now a thriving venture housing nine other businesses ranging from a candle maker, holistic therapists and interior designers.

And it has just launched a new gallery to showcase and sell the work and services of companies trading at Backridge Farm.

Richard, the sixth generation of his family to farm and the second at Backridge, Twitter Lane, Waddington, feared his business might go under when the disease ripped through neighbouring farms in 2001.

But, after the cattle side of his business collapsed, he decided to transform some of his former cattle sheds into workshops for local firms.

Three years on they now house businesses ranging from furniture makers and web designers to a bicycle builder.

Richard's recovery began when he offered to convert one of his spare barns into a workshop for friends who owned a company called Melt which makes fragrant candles.

Richard said: "It was a stroke of luck just at the right time, but it got me thinking.

"I had other spare buildings - calf pens, beef storage units and stables - that I realised needn't be redundant."

Working with Lancashire Rural Futures, which helped him find grants towards the costs of some of the conversion work, Richard has spent the last couple of years providing farmyard accommodation for eight other businesses.

Cheryl Hook, a Waddington-based businesswomen who jointly owns Melt, has helped set up the gallery which has the slogan "Backridge: Where Lifestyle Meets Nature".

She said: "We ended up with such an eclectic mix of businesses that we thought we needed one place to showcase them all."

The companies trading out of Backridge are: Melt, Twitteriane Interiors, Ribble Valley Design, holistic therapy service The Lilac Room, Bennett's Cycles, Debbie Ellis' physiotherapy, Signtec which provides commercial signs, web design company Branches Design and Image Embroidery.