FARMER Nancy Bryant hopes a highly critical report on the Government's handling of last year's devastating foot and mouth crisis will mean the same mistakes are never made again.

County councillor Bryant, who farms near Calne and is a leading member of Wiltshire's NFU, said: "This report must not just be filed away. There are important lessons, especially on leadership, to be learned."

The Anderson Report into lessons to be learned from the epidemic, released this week says that delays in calling in the Army to deal with the crisis prolonged misery for farmers and increased the cost for taxpayers.

The 187-page document also detailed how it was impossible to discover who took vital decisions during the crisis such as introducing the controversial slaughter policy and the widespread closure of footpaths.

Dr Iain Anderson, who chaired the report, identified a crucial 31-day period when lack of effective action after the first confirmed case allowed a veterinary problem to escalate into a full-blown crisis.

Coun Bryant, whose family also runs a haulage business, called for an emergency plan to deal with farming problems, which she said should be updated at least every two years.

"One of the worst things about last year's crisis was the lack of leadership. Everyone was running around like headless chickens," she said.

"We were all trying to get information but no one seemed able to give any. I was totally appalled by the lack of forward planning.

"People at county level did their best but it was impossible to get information. Even MP Michael Ancram was unable to get an answer from the ministry."

She said people felt as if they were left to fend for themselves without any support from people at the very top.

"No one was listening to people at grass roots level. It also seemed that nothing had been learnt from the earlier foot and mouth crisis in 1967," said Coun Bryant.

"There was nothing in place at all. Epidemics such as foot and mouth should be planned for in the same way that emergency planning teams plan for train crashes and motorway accidents."

She said she hopes this report does not just get filed away but is used as the basis for such planning in the future.

The report calls for the Army to be enlisted immediately to help combat a new outbreak and says ministers should have done so sooner during the last outbreak.

Former agriculture minister Nick Brown, who was in charge during the crisis, is criticised for delaying the Army's involvement. Mr Brown was later moved to the Department of Works and Pensions.

The report advises that the mass burning of carcasses on pyres, which harmed tourism when it was televised around the world, must not be repeated.

It also says that the blanket closure of footpaths was a mistake and vaccination should be an option in any future strategy to control foot and mouth.