THE devastation faced by farmers over the past few years has been well documented.

Foot and mouth disease ravaged large parts of the country and its awful effects ran right through whole communities enveloping them in a depression which in many cases will take many years to turn around.

In the Ribble Valley many farmers, and those who relied on them, saw their traditional livelihoods disappear completely.

They were faced with the choice of either moving off the land - if they could sell their farms - or looking at some other way of making ends meet which didn't involve cattle.

For people like Richard Drinkall of Waddington, whose family have been farming for six generations, developing a new way of life can have been no easy task.

But his massive success in diversifying is a model example of what can be done with true entrepreneurial flair.

Disused calf pens, beef storage units and stables have been turned into homes for nine businesses ranging from furniture makers and web designers to a bicycle builder and holistic therapist.

The units are bringing new employment to the countryside as well as visitors with money to spend and all concerned should be congratulated on their initiative.