FEATURE: Foot and mouth may be nothing more than a bad memory for some, but many are still counting the cost of a crisis that threatened the very existence of the farming industry in Wiltshire. SARAH HEATHCOTE reports.

AFTER a devastating year for farmers in Wiltshire, the lasting effects of foot and mouth are still reverberating around the county.

Much has been debated about the Government's controv-ersial compensation scheme, but for every farmer receiving money for lost stock there are hundreds more who were not directly affected but who lost money through restrictions and the loss of confidence in British meat generally.

And then there are those who rely on tourism for their living, who experienced a dramatic fall in trade and yet are not included in the compensation scheme.

Even now it is difficult to believe the scale of the disease and the effects on the rural economy.

Wiltshire escaped relatively lightly compared to counties like Cumbria or Devon, but the stench of funeral pyres still lingers on.

Wiltshire's foot and mouth outbreak began in February, when infected animals were found at John and Dick Stiles' abattoir at Bromham. The discovery led to a chain of infections and thousands of animals were culled as officials struggled to isolate the disease.

Other early scares came at Eastbrook Farm near Bishopstone, but this turned out to be a false alarm. An outbreak a month later at Shalbourne, south of Swindon, again led inspectors to search for animals that might have been in contact with the diseased stock.

One thousand sheep and cattle owned by Kelvin Orchard spread around four farms were destroyed after the initial discovery of the disease at Slope Farm.

Other outbreaks were at Manor Farm in Berwick Bassett, near Avebury, and Temple Farm estate at Rockley.

Later in the summer, the sight and smell of funeral pyres came to the outskirts of Swindon when foot and mouth disease was discovered on farmland at Barbury Castle.

Among the tourist attractions hit by the disease in Wiltshire were the standing stones at Avebury, Barbury Castle Country Park, Coate Water, Lydiard Park, The Ridgeway and the Swindon and Cricklade Railway.

The annual May Day fair which usually takes place at Lydiard Park was cancelled for only the second time in its 25 year history, resulting in up to £20,000 being lost to local good causes. The annual White Horse kite flyers festival was also hit, due to be held at Roves Farm at Sevenhampton.

In September, Government officials declared Wiltshire was disease free after three months with no new outbreaks.

But the disease remained in the news as attention turned to the controversial process of compensating those farmers directly affected. Some farmers received massive payouts while thousands more are quitting the industry.

Government figures show that nationally, farmers who had large herds culled got up to £4.6m each while average incomes dropped to less than a third of 1995 levels.

The Department of Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed there were 41 payments of £1m or more, 278 of between £500,000 and £1m, 832 of £250,000 to £500,000 and 1,633 of between £100,000 and £250,000.

However, some farmers in Wiltshire received as little as £56. There were 26 payments in the county, the highest was £133,086.

Defra said 7,800 farmers and agricultural workers lost their jobs in the year to June 2001 in England. Nevertheless, as we approach the end of the year, the future looks a little brighter for business and tourism in the area.

In October, a £750,000 advertising campaign was launched which features Wiltshire's most famous landmarks and personalities to attract companies to the South West.

And when all other methods of persuasion have failed, there is always the power of Harry Potter. The film Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone is currently creating a mini tourism boom in Lacock, where the Abbey was used to film scenes at Hogwarts School.