MORE than 1,000 sheep went up in flames last night as government officials burned East Lancashire's first victims of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

But the funeral pyre in farmer Arthur Pooley's Withnell field could be the first of many blazes in the area as Ministry of Agriculture chiefs warned there was no way of knowing how many more cases of the contagious virus could come to light.

After days of preparation the fire was finally started at 8.30pm last night.

The blaze started as Slinger's abattoir in Great Harwood -- at the centre of the second confirmed case in the area -- said it hoped to soon resume production after a nearby outbreak earlier in the week.

And Muslim leaders in Blackburn warned the crisis "will be a problem" for those who carry out the ritual slaughter of animals as part of the Eid celebrations on Monday (Match 5).

The gruesome wall of flames at Ollerton Farm could be seen for miles as it lit up the night sky and thick, black smoke pumped into the darkness.

Passers-by stopped their cars to watch the terrible scene unfold before their eyes.

Mr Pooley's farm became East Lancashire's first confirmed case of foot and mouth on Tuesday morning.

That day the painstaking task of destroying his 1,000-strong flock started as slaughter men moved in.

The next day Slinger's abattoir and a field next door in Great Harwood became the disease's second casualty and 40 sheep had to be slaughtered there.

An infected sheep was found in the field next door to the slaughterhouse and Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food officials said it was likely that a sheep from Withnell had gone to Slinger's and the infection had been passed from there to the field next door.

The abattoir's commercial director Phil Ellis said they hoped to resume production at the site early next week.

Ministry officials have confirmed they are still investigating four suspected cases of foot and mouth disease.

As well as the confirmed cases at Withnell and Great Harwood, they have received seven reports of suspected cases of foot and mouth.

Three of those have proved negative, but four farms still have the threat of the disease hanging over them. Officials were also at a farm in Laneshawbridge yesterday.

Rob Paul, MAFF's divisional veterinary manager, said: "It is difficult to say when an outbreak becomes an epidemic. We are not complacent about this -- it is being taken very seriously. We are conscious that this is and will continue to be a serious situation for some time."

Meanwhile Eid celebrations could now be effected by the crisis.

The qurbani is carried out at the end of Eid which for many mosques is next Monday (March 5) but the government has banned all killing of animals while cases of foot and mouth disease are being detected. GRUESOME: A tractor carries sheep carcasses as the slaughter men prepare for the fire at Ollerton Farm, Withnell, last night FARMER: Arthur Pooley