AS fear gnaws into the agricultural community nationwide with the relentless march of the foot and mouth epidemic, farmers in St Helens area are being advised to take severe measures to prevent the horror virus from infecting their livestock.

A top tourist attraction in the area has been forced to lock its doors and the council-run Pets' Corner in Sherdley Park has also closed to visitors.

Farmers across the district have been receiving urgent advice from the National Farmers Union to protect their farms from foot and mouth.

The NFU, who enforced a one-week cattle isolation period last Friday, have been advising farmers to disinfect all farming equipment and to monitor the movement of their cattle. Members of the public are also being urged to keep away from farmland in the area, a plea stongly backed up by St Helens Council.

Local farmer, James Heyes Senior of James Heyes and Sons Farmers at Mossborough Hall, on Mossborough Hall Lane in Rainford, says that he is following the precautions set out by the NFU to stop the spread of the disease on his farm and described the latest outbreak as a "disaster." The farm, which holds 400 suckler cows, is manned by a team of 6 staff who have been working at full stretch since the outbreak. James said: "We have isolated our cattle into sections and our staff have been feeding each different section so the animals are not moving around. We are doing everything we can to minimise the potential spread of the disease."

But James says that his farm is in a particularly vulnerable location because his cattle have to cross a public road in order to be fed, and since the outbreak James has been relying on his farming neighbours to help him feed his cattle.

Speaking on behalf of a number of farmers in the region, James said: "As a farming community we feel extremely let down because more than 10,000 officials monitor farmers in this country, but there is little control for meat coming in from abroad and I think that's where the disease originally came from."

James stressed that farmers in the region have received a great deal of support from the NFU in the North West and the local section of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Commenting on the recommendations, Lancashire and Cheshire Policy Advisor for the NFU, Rodney Bacon said: "We are trying to get as much information about the disease as we can and are passing this information on to farmers in the area.

"Farmers have been instructed not to move their cattle around and have been advised to disinfect all farming equipment. We are discouraging all non-essential vehicles and visitors from entering farms. We are also calling on the public to help us by staying away form farmland."

Knowsley Safari Park in Prescot has also been forced to close its doors to the public following the foot-and-mouth outbreak. Management closed the park on Saturday night to protect the animals. It will remain closed until further notice.

David Ross, General Manager at Knowsley Safari Park said that the park had been closed as a 'precautionary measure.' He said: "We felt that we had to close the park as the crisis gathered momentum last week, everyone here was becoming increasingly nervous and we wanted to protect our animals. The park will stay closed until we know what is happening elsewhere in the country."

And St Helens Council is asking townsfolk to limit their use of public footpaths near farms as the outbreak escalates. Although no cases of foot-and-mouth have been reported in the St Helens area, the Council is urging people to take extra care. Council Leader Marie Rimmer said: "Although there has been no confirmed case of foot and mouth in St Helens it is important that we do as much as possible to minimise any possibility of the infection being introduced into the Borough's farming community."

And as more cases are reported the Council say it is likely that the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food will impose restrictions on access to public paths across the country.