Ash spreads fear
Ash spreads fear
FARMERS fear foot-and-mouth may spread after thousands of tonnes of ash from funeral pyres were sent to an area free from the disease.
Up to 3000t of ash from a mass burial site in Northumberland are being stored near disease-free farms 100 miles away at Wilton, near Redcar, Cleveland. The first consignments arrived in sealed containers at a temporary site operated by Freightliner. They will be kept there until disposed of outside the region.
Newly-elected Redcar MP, Vera Baird, condemned the storage plan. She said: "Although the containers are supposed to be properly lined, the slightest blow-out of dust on to the farm could spell disaster. There have been risk assessments and it is pretty nasty stuff."
Redcar and Cleveland council said it was not consulted about the ash. But Freightliner spokeswoman insisted that the containers had been certified safe to travel. There was "no risk to people or animals", she added. *