Source of the outbreak 
   To date, the only authority to take legal action against
   the brothers - [The Waughs - at the centre of the 
   foot-and-mouth outbreak] - is South Tyneside District 
   Council. The brothers were the council's tenants at the
   Tileshead Lane Piggeries in Boldon, near Sunderland, when
   local councillors and residents complained about the squalid
   state of their pig farm. 

   The council served a notice on the brothers in 1992
   demanding substantial improvement to bring it up to an
   acceptable standard. The work was not completed
   within the required period and the council served a
   notice to quit. 

   The Waughs contested the notice but lost after an
   agricultural land tribunal. They were ordered to leave
   the premises in January 1995. 

   Even then they did not leave voluntarily, according to the
   council, which said it was forced to evict them in
   October 1995 and then to embark on "a massive
   programme of work to remove contamination and
   reclaim the site". The clean-up, funded by English
   Partnerships and the council, cost £100,000. 

   Mr Waugh insisted yesterday that he was not evicted.
   "The council wanted us to spend thousands of pounds
   on improvements and we left," he said. "If I could have
   afforded to spend that sort of money I wouldn't be a pig
   farmer in the first place." 

   The brothers appear to have embarked on a commercial
   leasing arrangement with a farmer in Heddon long
   before leaving Sunderland. 

   No authority has found reason to prosecute them there,
   though the Environment Agency inspected early last year
   and again three weeks ago after local people
   complained of dirty water running into streams and
   smoke pollution from burning at night. 

   Castle Morpeth council has visited the piggery four
   times in 11 months to investigate the smoke allegations
   but never had grounds to take action. The RSPCA said
   it was barred from the farm. 

   M.A.F.F. advised the Waughs in December after examining 
   welfare complaints." 

   By Ian Herbert, Northern Correspondent
   28 February 2001


   "The Independent" - English broadsheet

  -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

   M.A.F.F - Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
   
   now killed-off for overt corruption &/or incompetence

   http://www.perceptions.couk.com/bbio1.html


  -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
   
              FURTHER REFERENCES

  GO - "search perceptions" - in SEARCH-ENGINE


file-ID www.perceptions.couk.com/bio22.txt