A COUPLE who run a canalside cafe say their business may be on the verge of collapse as the foot and mouth crisis continues.

Anna-Marie and Mimmo Bilardi took over the Bridge Cafe, Hermitage Street, Rishton, on the Leeds and Liverpool canal, last July and were expecting a brisk trade in their first full summer, thanks to the tourists, cyclists, ramblers, joggers and barge-owners who frequent the canal's towpath.

But since the towpath was closed two months ago by British Waterways as a preventative measure against the spread of foot and mouth disease and with officials unsure as to when it will re-open, the Bilardis' fear it will hinder a potentially lucrative time for trade.

Anna-Marie said: "We were hoping to get a steady trade across Easter, but this will be a real blow. We have been told that is the time when everyone comes into the village and we wanted to encourage people to stop here."

Moorings for barges are available outside the canal, but their owners are not allowed to stop and disembark, risking a £1,000 fine..

Anna-Marie added: "We're very busy at weekends, but we're not getting the tourists, just the locals. Last year we made a lot of friends with all the walkers and boats passing by but the way things are looking, we are not going to get that type of business."

A spokesman for British Waterways said: the canal at Rishton was presently open for navigation but people weren't allowed to disembark from their barges as the village falls within a three kilometre exclusion zone as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak in Great Harwood.

He said: "We are working closely with MAFF, NFU and local authorities and over the coming week we will be announcing sections of towpath that have been assessed as being acceptable to be re-opened."