The farming family whose herd of prize cows have been slaughtered and burned today told how they received scores of letters and messages of support from the community.

The pyres on Myrtle Grove Farm, Queensbury, are now in their fourth day and Patricia Varley said although the initial shock had subsided, the distress remained as potent.

The farm is the second in the Bradford area to be struck by foot and mouth after tests confirmed the virus on Saturday and the fires were lit on Tuesday evening.

The flames are expected to last for another two or three days by which time they will have consumed 19 pedigree Limousin cows, each worth thousands of pounds.

Mrs Varley said she had her husband John were still adjusting to their loss.

She said: "I suppose we are not doing too badly, but it is still really hard for us. We are really still coming to terms with it.

"We have had a lot of cards from other farmers and because we were members of the Limousin society we have had a lot of support from people connected with that.

"But the fires will still be burning for another two or three days and it is very distressing to watch that happening."

The farm is a kilometre, as the crow flies, from the first site of foot and mouth in Bradford at Bobby Green Farm, also in Queensbury.

Vets from the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) said the virus could have been carried on the wind from Bobby Green, which saw 135 cows and 7,000 chickens culled, or by someone walking over the land.