Farmers help

Cruse Bereavement Care in Darlington is hoping to extend its work to cover Teesdale and the Wear Valley, where many farmers have lost part or all of their livestock.

The charity is hoping to raise money to allow people in isolated areas to be trained as counsellors to help farmers and their families deal with the recent sense of loss caused by the foot and mouth outbreak as well as deaths of friends and relatives.

Marion Pickersgill of Cruse said: "The need for specialised bereavement support in these areas has been identified through personal requests from clients and also by health and social care professional working within these isolated and socially deprived rural areas.

"Recent evidence of the additional acute stresses caused by foot and mouth disease has raised this need to the highest priority."

Mrs Pickersgill went onto say the loss of cattle or livestock was a great bereavement for a farmer and if these feelings were not resolved then any future deaths in the family could have an exaggerated effect.

She said: "Family deaths and those of other close people may cause much greater impact on those people directly affected by foot and mouth disease than will otherwise be the case."

The new project would employ a full-time development officer who would be based in Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland.

They would work with professionals in health and education to set up specialist support groups if needed as well as training counsellors in cut-off areas.

Mrs Pickersgill said: "We have not been able to fully support the dales because of the high cost of travel.

"It would therefore help if there were people on the ground in these areas."

The project has already received the support of the Dales Primary Care Group which has pledged £27,000 a year for three years as long as £37,448 over three years is found from another source.

This money is now being sought from other charities and trusts as without it the project can not go ahead.

Read more about the foot-and-mouth crisis here.