Farmers light up the skies in major protest

A series of beacons are being lit in the run up to a massive rally in London on Sunday when thousands of people will object to Government proposals they fear will damage rural life.

Ten thousand are expected to travel from Yorkshire - and among them will be farmers struggling to cope with the beef crisis and other problems that have hit the industry.

One of the beacons - a symbol of troubled times - was lit last night at Hill Top Farm in Denholme. Farmer Michael Priestley, 60, who owns Hill Top, said in all his years of farming he had never witnessed a crisis like this.

"If the damage to farmers is not repaired, many may leave the industry," he warned.

"Normally it affects just one specific area - for example there may be a slump in the demand for pig or eggs. But what is happening now is right across the board.

"It's serious. Farmers are losing a lot of money and it is going to get worse."

But Bradford area National Farmers' Union spokesman Michael Rhodes said there is hope with some retailers exclusively selling British beef. He added: "It is one of the safest meats in the world. But on the other hand we are up against heavy marketing of other types of beef in the country whose origins are unknown."

Mr Rhodes said plunging prices for sheep and a strong pound which encourages cheaper imports had wider implications.

"It is not just farmers but the whole of the countryside which is suffering," he said.

Gerry Passman, the Country Landowners' Association's Yorkshire Public Relations Officer, said: "We all like to drive around and visit the countryside, but right now it is under threat and needs our support."

A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union said: "This beacon initiative is a way of demonstrating the real fear there is in rural communities now of the appalling financial crisis faced by farmers."

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