THE latest farming family to be hit by the foot and mouth crisis today blasted people who flocked to the area to watch the cull as the disease's deadly grip on the Ribble Valley tightened.

Bank Top Farm, run by the Bolton family off Sawley Road, Sawley, was the first of four new cases of the disease to be confirmed this week.

Three more followed, one in Sawley at Gisburn Cotes Farm and two in the small community of Newsholme, at Stankas Hall Farm and Desmense Farm.

Today one of the daughters of Michael and Linda Bolton, who lost 100 cattle, 100 calves and 21 sheep relived the moment she spotted one of their cows frothing at the mouth.

And Sarah Bolton -- whose sister Louise has not been allowed on to the farm for weeks while her younger sister Catherine has remained off Bowland High School, both in a bid to prevent the disease spreading on to their half-century old farm -- blasted the rubbernecks who had flocked to the area after hearing about the disease.

Fighting back the tears, she said: "We have no chance of stopping the disease if people keep coming here. We aren't allowed off the farm and people aren't supposed to be walking in the fields but they are, trying to get a look at our animals being destroyed. "We are losing our livelihoods here and people are driving around and walking around looking at us as if nothing has happened.

"My younger sister has not been to school for a week while my other sister has been asked not to come on to the farm for fear of bringing the disease so easily. It sickens me people are ignoring that and wandering around as if nothing has happened."

Walkers risk a £5,000 for roaming in an infected area. The funeral pyres lit when the disease first started in March attracted spectators from far and wide. Sarah does not know how the disease got on to the farm. She added: "The vets came down on Friday to monitor the situation. On Saturday, I spotted a cow which was frothing at the mouth and I immediately panicked.

"We got the vet out and it was confirmed on Saturday afternoon. The last of the carcasses was taken away yesterday morning.

"The vets, the army, the slaughtermen, they have all been great to us as have the local people here. The phones hasn't stopped ringing offering us support. The only thing which concerns me is that the deer are still roaming free around here. It could have come from them and they could be spreading it right across the Valley."

A spokesman for MAFF said it was still investigating how the disease had spread to the farm, and indeed to the Valley. There have now been 22 cases of foot and mouth in Lancashire. The most recent seven have been in the Ribble Valley in the last 10 days, the first of which was in Paythorne last weekend following a cluster in the Settle area. Earlier this year, lone cases in Chipping and Clayton-le-Dale were confirmed.

A cull at Gisburn Cotes Farm was due to take place last night after vets identified a confirmed case at 2pm yesterday.

A stretch of A682 was closed yesterday to allow cattle to be moved away from the farms. It re-opened at 6pm.

The case at Desmense Farm was detected in a herd which belonged to the owners of Painley Farm, operated by Mrs AS Oldfield, resulting in 210 cattle and 300 sheep being culled.

At Stankas Hall Farm, 278 cattle and 460 sheep were culled yesterday.

A MAFF base is due to open on Friday in Gisburn to cope with the problem.

A MAFF spokesman said: "We are investigating how the disease has spread. It is an airborne disease which does travel very easily."

A planned battle re-enactment by the Sealed Knot at Hoghton Tower yesterday was called off due to foot and mouth.