THE last outbreak of foot and mouth disease caught East Lancashire by surprise in 1967.

It had taken a terrible toll in other parts of the North West and the Midlands, then an 'unaccountable, isolated outbreak' hit the livestock of George Thistlethwaite at Horden Farm at Feniscowles, Blackburn, in mid-November.

Strict measures had been in place for weeks to contain the disease. So how had it travelled to East Lancashire -- when the nearest infected farms were at Lancaster, 25 miles away, and 40 miles distant in Cheshire?

Seagulls were thought to be to blame for the smaller outbreak at farms around Carnforth and Lancaster. But the Ministry of Agriculture confessed to not having the slightest idea on how the virus reached Feniscowles.

The grim task of slaughter began at Horden Farm. All the stock -- 74 cattle, 38 pigs and 40 sheep -- was destroyed and immediately buried in deep trenches.

Slaughter was suspended at abattoirs in Blackburn. Ministry officials set up emergency headquarters in the town. And an immediate standstill zone, banning the movement of all cattle, was declared in a ten-mile radius around Feniscowles.

The total number of cases climbed to 450 nationally, but as hopes rose of the outbreak in East Lancashire being contained, they were dashed three weeks later when foot and mouth was discovered confirmed at Goosnargh, near Longridge. Cases were confirmed at four farms inside a week. A flock of starlings seen on two of the farms that were hit was suspected of bringing in the virus. And five days later, it had spread to Yew Tree Farm in Ribchester, where farmer Mr D. Fox lost 42 pedigree cattle and 22 pigs.

All horse racing was stopped and fishing banned in some areas, Rossendale's Fell Search Unit went on alert to prevent people wandering on to farmland.

By mid-1968 the epidemic had petered out. But by then more than 350,000 animals on more than 1,000 farms had been slaughtered at a cost of more than £12million.

A Lancashire farmer who lost two prize herds in the outbreak said at the time: "The silence around the farm after the slaughtermen have gone almost drives you out of your mind. Even the dogs go quiet."

And what was to blame for the virus coming to our region? The theory -- later supported by research -- remained that birds had indeed brought it with them after settling on the carcases of infected animals.