ASKRIGG School is set outside the small quiet village of Askrigg. It is a lovely place in the heart of Wensleydale.

Bainbridge is the closest village to Askrigg. In Askrigg there are three shops and three pubs.

The 70 children at Askrigg school come mainly from Askrigg, Carperby and surrounding villages.

It was a sad year for us in 2001 with the foot-and-mouth crisis. There were a lot of cases of the disease in Cumbria and quite a few in Wensleydale, where Askrigg School is.

Some of the children and staff from farming families had their stock culled.

William Lambert's farm was the first in Wensleydale to get foot-and-mouth.

Ten days later, Bowe's was struck down and then Edwin Pratts, at Buttersett.

It affected school because some children could not attend. Some were off for a month and some were off for a week.

It was not any fun for the kids being stuck on the farms, and the school sent books and worksheets to do at home, so they did not fall behind with the work.

All the students got back to school - they have been back for quite a long time. Some farms are now restocking and still have to disinfect vehicles and dip feet in disinfectant. It is becoming possible to get a licence to move any sheep, cows, goats and pigs.

At the time of writing, the footpaths are still closed, a fact we think most people will be amazed by.

Some people want to know how foot-and-mouth came here.

Did it come from abroad? Nobody knows.

When it started, farms were inspected every three or four days to check you did not have it.

At school, we had to dip our shoes at the door all the time.

Trees in the dale were used for the big fires they had to burn the animals.

Foot-and-mouth affected business in Hawes. It was a ghost town and it was the same in Askrigg as well. Everybody wished foot-and-mouth never came here. It was a brutal thing.