Village in PR campaign against foot and mouth

A TINY village in Exmoor, ravaged by fallout from the foot-and- mouth crisis, has taken the extraordinary step of hiring a London public relations expert to revamp the area's image.

Residents of Dulverton have called on the services of publicist Kizzi Nkwocha to persuade tourists here and abroad to make visits to the countryside.

Although livestock in Exmoor has always been foot-and-mouth free, villagers believe the area has been affected because of the initial message that the countryside was closed.

Shopkeeper Keith Ross, who is spearheading the Living Exmoor campaign, said: "We want Kizzi to remarket Exmoor as a viable place to have a holiday.

Footpaths may still not be open but there's lots to do here. We have a dramatic coastline, beautiful cliffs and visitors can enjoy boat rides against breathtaking scenery."

Mr Ross, an independent councillor, added: "The campaign is to regenerate economic activity that's been lost because of bad publicity associated with foot-and-mouth, particularly in Devon and Somerset. We are looking at ways of encouraging tourists.

"Our message is that Exmoor welcomes responsible visitors. With the Bank Holiday coming up, we hope that people look seriously at visiting."

It was only last week that hundreds of villagers in Exmoor pledged to barricade Broford Farm against Ministry of Agriculture officials if they tried to cull 986 cattle belonging to 31-year-old farmer Guy Thomas-Everard.

Maff vets finally abandoned their proposal to slaughter the herd. But Mr Ross and his supporters remain deeply critical of the Government.

He said: "I'm convinced that the Government we have is very much urban-focused and does not really understand the issues of the countryside.

Because of the poor handling of the crisis we have businesses here that have collapsed, and several more on the verge."

Mr Nkwocha said: "They have really got their backs against the wall. On the one hand they've got Maff threatening to cull stock. On the other hand tourists don't want to visit."

Guy's father, Christopher Thomas-Everard, said: "The situation Maff put us through was like being at war. Maff didn't tell us anything, we just heard everything through the media. It was dreadful."

of Oxford Street since the expansion of London in the early 1800s.

Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.