Pig farmer hits back

Burnside farm is the "probable source" of the outbreak

The pig farmer at the centre of the foot-and-mouth outbreak has claimed that he has been the victim of "malicious gossip".

A total of 600 pigs owned by Bobby Waugh and his brother Ronnie were burnt on Monday at his Northumberland farm after the Ministry of Agriculture said it was the probable source of the virus.

BBC's Close Up North programme caught up with Mr Waugh.

As the number of cases of foot-and-mouth continues to rise, Mr Waugh has defended his pig farming.

The 55-year-old farmer told the programme that the disease could have been brought on to his farm.

If people had seen the pigs they would see how good a condition they were in.

Bobby Waugh

"I am the same as the ministry - everybody is only guessing what's happened," he said.

He added that he would not have survived in farming for 40 years had he not run his farm in a professional way.

Mr Waugh denied press reports that his farm was in a poor state.

Good conditions

"But the press is only seeing muck heaps outside - that is all it is seeing and that is what they are calling a poor state," he said.

Mr Waugh was adamant that his pigs were not kept in poor conditions.

"If people had seen the pigs they would see how good a condition they were in and the same when they were getting them ready to burn - they were all really in good condition."

Bobby Waugh denies he kept pigs in poor conditions

The farmer said Trading Standards officers had visited his farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall in December following a complaint by the RSPCA.

But he denied that RSPCA inspectors had been refused entry to his farm.

Ministry of Agriculture inspectors twice visited the farm in December and January but no further action was deemed necessary.

And environmental health officers visited the farm four times in eleven months, according to Close Up North.

Mr Waugh was asked about the exceptional nature of visits by the Ministry of Agriculture, made out of concern about farming conditions rather than being routine checks.

He replied: "But that was malicious gossip. But they came and found nothing wrong."

Farm 'eviction'

He also denied that South Tyneside Council had tried to evict him from his previous farm in that area because his pigs were kept in poor conditions.

"If I hadn't been keeping them right, the ministry would have been on my back and they should have prosecuted for living in squalor."

Maff inspectors visited Burnside farm

But he claimed that had he stayed on he would have had to meet £350,000 of work he was told to carry out.

"I would have had to have been a total idiot to spend £350,000 on a place - the land didn't belong to us - and they could give us a year's notice if they want."

He said the council and trading standards would have prosecuted if conditions had been so bad.

The farmer said he was uncertain about his next moves.

"You can't do anything for six months.

"The industry has just shut down at the moment so you can't do anything," he said.

This interview is due to be broadcast at 1930 GMT on Thursday in the North East and Cumbria in a Close Up North special "A Killing Time".