A REPORT which called for a better approach to overcoming the consequences of foot and mouth has been welcomed by people affected in East Lancashire.

The document, from the Countryside Agency, released yesterday, revealed that the damage caused by the foot and mouth epidemic had spread far beyond farming and had put many rural tourist businesses on the brink of bankruptcy.

It called for urgent action to help them survive the winter through "robust and targeted regeneration measures in the worst affected areas".

It also asked for more effort to diversify the rural economy and a fundamental shift towards sustainable land management encouraged by the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Across Lancashire, some 50 farms have been found to have the disease, with many more around them having livestock culled as a precaution.

When the disease hit the Ribble Valley, the area was declared a virtual no-go zone and began to hit businesses with little connection to farming.

Tourist numbers fell, hotel bookings collapsed and many normally busy venues were deserted. Nationally, tourism is believed to have lost £4billion in revenue, with farming losing £1.5billion.

John Welbank, project manager of the Clitheroe-based Bowland Initiative, set up to help regenerate rural areas, said the epidemic had caused a major impact on all aspects of rural life. "It is quite clear that we need a clear, integrated approach," he said. "If farming goes under, tourism will go under as well. Foot and mouth has proved beyond question the need for a co-ordinated approach.

"There are farmers who have had no income for more than six months and it will take up to two years for farming to return to normal.

"For the tourist industry, 2001 has been effectively written off. There were a lot of visitors in the Ribble Valley over the last Bank Holiday weekend, but bookings for holiday accommodation are still way down.

"People will come back to the countryside. The question is whether those tourism businesses are going to be around to benefit from those visitors."

The Bowland Initiative was set up almost three years ago as a pilot project to work with farmers to explore alternative income streams.

Mr Welbank said there had been a large increase in demand for the services provided by his team of project workers.

"Some farmers will be leaving the industry," he said. "But many more are looking at other possibilities to diversify their incomes."

Alder Leach runs a shop and tearoom in Bolton-by-Bowland. She has seen trade in the latter vanish as tourists stay away.

She said: "We need help from wherever we can get it because things will not be the same for a long time to come. So much has been lost and so much has changed. We need to get the visitors back."

Countryside Agency chairman Ewan Cameron said: "The worst effects have been the lack of visitors to the countryside. They have been focused on those areas where the incomes per household are at their lowest."