FARMERS have lost hundreds of animals due to the extreme cold weather in East Lancashire.

Newborn lambs and piglets died from the chill, sheep became buried under snow drifts, disease set in due to wet conditions, and the cost of feed has been nearly bankrupting farmers.

The industry’s national charity, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), has reported a massive rise in calls for monetary, financial and emotional support from farmers struggling with the fallout of a year of bad weather.

John Wilkinson, owner of Foxfields Farm in Whalley Road, Stonyhurst, said he has been paying out two thirds more for food now than he was this time last year.

He said: “It’s been really tough for a while.

“But because so many farmers have been losing sheep, lamb is in high demand and the price has shot up, which is great for me because we didn’t have any snow or lose any sheep.”

Bettie and Alec Emmett, livestock breeders at Hillside Farm in Beverley Road, Blacko, have struggled with the cost of feed and loss of animals during the winter.

Mr Emmett said: “We lost 15 of our piglets because of the cold.

“We’ve only two to sell now, we’ve lost so much money.”

Mrs Emmett said: “Everything’s rough because it’s been so wet.

“The grass is finally starting to grow now though, so hopefully things are looking up.”

A spokesman for the National Farmer’s Union in the North said: “Many of our members are having to sacrifice what they would usually take home for themselves and pour it back into their business or risk going under.

“But these are the kind of economics farmers are used to, and they will take it on the chin.”

Last year, the RABI gave out £43,130 in grants to 32 beneficiaries, which were mostly elderly or disabled people.

Whereas, in the first quarter of this year alone, the charity gave out £15,000 in grants to 30 people in Lancashire, just under £7,000 of which were emergency payments to working farmers.

A spokeswoman for the RABI said: “We’ve seen a dramatic increase of farmers needing help this year, mostly as a result of the bad weather.

“We won’t know the full cost for some time yet.”