WYRE Forest went on the alert this week as confirmed cases of foot and mouth disease in Herefordshire and a suspected case in Shropshire came too close for comfort.

Wyre Forest District Council is advising people to keep away from its wildlife reserves and communities in Rock have called for the closure of the Wyre Forest to prevent the spread of the disease and protect deer.

Kidderminster National Farmers Union branch chairman and Trimpley dairy farmer Michael Halford advised farmers to heed Government advice to use disinfectant, ban visitors and discourage footpath walkers.

He said there should be no relaxation of vigilance, although many would remember Wyre Forest escaped the 1967 outbreak.

The outbreak has come at a bad time in an area where farmers are suffering a sharp fall in income and face a sugar import threat and a future without British Sugar.

The Kidderminster factory closure affects stock farmers who use factory by-products for feedstuffs as well as beet growers.

Canon John Willis who mans the lines to the Worcestershire Rural Stress Information Network said: "We have had a number of calls from North Worcestershire. Farmers are very worried and tense. We are expecting to be very busy. Certain churches will be staging prayer vigils."

District council spokesman Nick Lewis said it was not physically

possible to police nature reserves and at present it was not considered necessary to close footpaths. But notices would advise people not to enter.

Amended arrangements were being made in line with national advice on refuse collection at farms. Farmers would need to take rubbish to the ends of drives.

Rock Parish Council has expressed "dismay" to the Forestry Commission that it has not yet closed access to the forest.

Area forester Richard Boles said the commission was seeking Government and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food guidance.

He said northern areas, including Button Oak, were being closed because of farmers' concerns. Visitors to other areas were being asked to keep to boundaries.

Visits by large groups and other major events were being cancelled and anyone wanting to take part in education activities in the Discovery Centre should check first.

West Midland Safari Park remains closed for winter but head warden Bob Lawrence said the same precautions were being employed as on farms.

The long-awaited launch of a farmers' market in Kidderminster has become the first major casualty of the foot-and-mouth crisis in Wyre Forest.

Plans were well advanced to bring around 20 stalls selling fresh farm produce to the town centre on March 9 but the market has been cancelled as a precaution against spreading the disease.

Kidderminster Town Centre Partnership vice chairman Margaret Moon said: "This is a huge disappointment after all the work that has gone into it."

The first market has been rescheduled for April 13.