SHE was the calf that was aptly called Phoenix when she staggered to her feet from among the dead, and she became a bovine hero around the world.

Now the calf that melted millions of hearts is to become a star - and the symbol of farming's re-emergence from the horror of foot-and-mouth disease.

Phoenix will appear at the Showman's Show North, at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate next month, thanks to a special movement licence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

It will be the first time an animal has appeared at a show since the outbreak of the disease.

She was born on April 13 last year - a Friday which proved luckier for her than it did for others. She was found among the bodies of cattle and sheep which had been slaughtered on a farm at Axminster, Devon, as part of measures to try to halt the epidemic.

Pictures of her appeared in the media, and as a result the Government intervened and her death sentence was lifted.

Since then, she has received letters and cards from all over the world.

The show, on March 6 and 7, is being hosted by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Spokesman Heather Parry said: "Phoenix is a tangible symbol of hope and optimism for the future."

Show director Stephen Lance said: "Having her at the event is symbolic that the agricultural and country shows will rise again in 2002."