AS the funeral pyre at Withnell of a thousand slaughtered sheep today brought home to East Lancashire the horror of the foot and mouth epidemic, it is vital the community realises that the battle against this disease has to be fought be everyone, not just farmers and officials.

What is most horrid about this new farms crisis is the awful uncertainty over how deep it may yet run. For though only a week old and with almost 7,000 animals already destroyed, the number of cases almost doubling overnight shows just what a pernicious disease it is for animal health alone.

But how dreadful it is in so many other ways.

It destroys the life's work of farmers, many of whom are still struggling to recover from the BSE crisis and the economic hardships gripping agriculture.

The meat and dairy industry reels as restrictions are imposed on them. And a whole chain of businesses and jobs -- from transport and markets to pet food and leisure -- are put in jeopardy. Sport and social activities and the revenue and employment they generate are suffering too. This is with the foot and mouth outbreak only a week old and evidently set get worse.

But while tens of thousands of people may feel that they have little to do with all of this, it is crucial that they realise that this epidemic does not involve just farms and the countryside, but the entire community when it comes to stopping its spread.

The foot and mouth virus is one of the most infectious pathogens known. It spreads rapidly, easily and deviously -- and the last thing that is needed is it being given assistance by the ignorance or indifference of people who believe this epidemic does not concern them.

The message is clear: Stay out of the countryside. Stay away from farms. Follow the official advice. Then, you will be helping to save farms, animals and jobs and food shortages. Play your part and stop this disaster becoming a catastrophe.