AN IMPASSIONED plea to Prince Charles could be the last hope for a flock of a rare breed of sheep facing slaughter.

Last night, farmer Peter Cruddas, of Tow Law, County Durham, spoke of his growing fear for the future of his Hebridean flock.

They are surrounded by farms which have either fallen victim to foot-and-mouth disease or where stock have been slaughtered as a precaution.

Mr Cruddas has 127 sheep on Whitehouse Farm - making up about ten per cent of the national stock.

Friends have already faxed a message to Prince Charles, who also keeps the breed at Highgrove, highlighting his plight. So far, there has been no reply.

On Good Friday, he and his wife, Linda, should be looking forward to lambing the 70 pregnant ewes grazing outside their farmhouse.

But Mr Cruddas fears his flock will be wiped out if the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff) extend the policy, currently in force in parts of Cumbria, where healthy animals are slaughtered within three kilometers of an outbreak.

He said: "I honestly believe, the way things are going, they will not be here this time next week. The breed originally comes from the Hebrides, but it is our mainland stock that is sending bloodlines back because they are nearly extinct."

It is the waiting, to find out whether his stock will get a reprieve, that is taking its toll.

Mr Cruddas said: "We first heard the announcement last week about the three kilometre radius. This puts us smack in the middle of it.

"We are a week down the line and we still don't know what's going to happen. It is more an emotional thing for me than financial, but for some of my good friends that is not the case.''

Calls have been received from fellow Hebridean sheep breeders, offering lambs to help Mr Cruddas start his flock if the worst happens.

He said: "I would be the first to call in the vet if they got it. What I can't accept is culling them when they are perfectly healthy.''