A CHARITY helpline set up for farmers during the foot-and-mouth crisis has received 26,344 calls to date.

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution has helped more than 10,500 families and has paid out about £10.5m in grant aid.

A RABI conference on Tuesday heard of harrowing calls received by helpline volunteers.

Sally Mitchell, deputy national chairman, told of her anguish at a late-night call from a desperate farmer from the North of England. "He was at the end of his tether. He could not get a licence to move his flock of sheep to a sheltered part of the farm," she said. "The sheep were lambing, it was raining heavily and his lambs were drowning at birth."

She felt the human side of the foot-and-mouth tragedy had been overlooked. "Farming is a way of life; no farmer can just stand by and watch their animals and livelihoods destroyed before their eyes without a feeling of helplessness and despair."

She paid tribute to those who had called the helpline. "I think it actually takes a very brave and strong man or woman to pick up the phone and pour out their hearts in desperation."

RABI welfare officer John Basnett spoke of his horror at a call on his mobile telephone from a farmer threatening suicide.

Fortunately, he was able to get help to him but he spoke of other moving cases of old, poverty stricken, but fiercely proud, farmers who refused to claim benefits and income they were entitled to and whom he had to persuade to accept help.

A 12-year-old girl secretly rang him to ask if he could help her parents.

Another speaker, however, told of a nine-year-old boy who sent cash in a sealed envelope, with a note explaining how he and his sister had sold their toys at their front gate.

"A bus pulled up and the driver and all the passengers bought their toys, then gave them back to their mum at the back gate," she said.

The speakers were attending a RABI information day at the Great Yorkshire showground in Harrogate.

RABI issued survey forms to 1,000 of its beneficiaries, and 515 were returned. Of those, 93pc said RABI's help met their immediate needs. The majority seeking help were aged 40 to 60; 63pc owned their farms and 27pc were tenants. Almost half needed help because they could not trade and had no income.

Eighty per cent planned to continue farming after foot-and-mouth and, perhaps surprisingly, 39pc had children planning to follow them into farming. Another 34pc said their children did not plan to enter farming while 17pc did not know whether their children would do so.

Mrs Mitchell said RABI changed the night that foot-and-mouth was confirmed. It immediately established an emergency committee at its Oxford HQ and manned the 24-hour helpline. Its help was extended to include business, as well as domestic, expenses.

Christine Andrews, RABI northern field officer was immensely proud of what the charity had achieved and paid particular tribute to the county committees and volunteers.

She spoke of the many hundreds of often distressing calls received. It would be a tragedy if the close working relationships forged between various charities and organisations faded away.

These sentiments were echoed by Ian Bell of the ARC Addington fund, which had handled £10m in the last 12 months.

It had complemented RABI's work and had never intended to compete with it. "The one good thing to come out of foot-and-mouth was that all parties worked together," he said.

Mr Bell gave up farming three years ago when his wife's wage was keeping the farm going and he spoke of the pressure on farmers and rural businesses just to survive. He believed many more would have to do what he did and realise that there was another life outside farming.

He told of a couple who were culled out and received compensation, but wanted to wait until the spring to restock. The farmer was surprised to find another job easily, even though he was in his 50s, and his wife got a job at Tesco. She enjoyed getting off the farm and meeting other people.

"All of a sudden they were two people with income and time to spend it on other things than the farm, and that, I am sure, is going to happen again," said Mr Bell.

He cited another farmer who received £55 a tonne for straw when he had actually sold his wheat for only £53.50 a tonne.

"I do not think we need any more disease disasters," he said. "The economics are going to have as profound an effect over the next few years as any disease has had."

Mr Bell also worried that splits might appear between those farmers who had received compensation and those who had not.

He praised Prince Charles and the Duke of Westminster for their generous donations to the Addington fund as well as the churches which had all been great supporters.

He also spoke of urban support, of the pensioner from the East End of London who still sent a 50p postal order when she could, and of the 267 people in the Finchley area of London who had sent money.

Addington now plans to use its funds for training grants and match funding to help keep people in the countryside. It is are also looking at helping people with failing rural businesses who need to sell up but the proceeds would not buy a house locally. with the proceeds. They should not be lost to the community