THE owner of a petting farm says that calls for children to be banned from touching animals after an outbreak of E coli would harm their development.

A Department of Health committee was yesterday looking into the possibility of changing guidelines on whether children under five should have contact with animals at petting farms.

And parents were warned to “think very hard” about letting youngsters touch them after more people fell ill following the outbreak.

Yesterday, microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said that youngsters were “the most difficult part of the population to get to wash their hands” while also “most likely to touch the animals”.

“There is an issue here and I think the public expects that we have a really good look at the guidelines and also at the way the guidelines are being implemented.

It is all very well having guidelines if people are not following them,” said Prof Pennington, who is emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen.

However, Carol Clark, who runs the attraction Big Sheep Little Cow, at Aiskew, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, said she had no plans to stop children getting hands-on experience.

Mrs Clark said: “Provided people wash their hands after touching the animals, there’s not a high risk.

“We do a guided tour round the farm and before they set off we talk about touching animals and not putting fingers into mouths.

“As far as we are concerned, we take as many precautions as we can that are sensible.”

Big Sheep Little Cow lets visitors handle sheep, pigs, calves, lambs and more unusual creatures such as rats and has been open for about 20 years.

Mrs Clark, who said parents had to take responsibility for their own children as well, said: “We’ve had a couple of people call us to see if we were still open, with the E coli problems.

“This should not be taken lightly, but stopping children from touching animals will harm their development.”

At Thorpe Farm Centre, in Greta Bridge, County Durham, youngsters can pet goats, rabbits and other animals.

A centre spokesman said: “We always have hand-washing facilities at the pens and notices up warning of the need to wash hands. We’re not planning to stop children from touching the animals, and it should not be a problem.”

E coli – symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting – can be especially dangerous in young children because they cannot tolerate much fluid loss. It can lead to kidney failure.

Ten children were in hospital last night but all were in a stable condition and improving, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said.

On Friday, the World of Country Life farm, in Exmouth, Devon, was closed.

An inquiry at the attraction was continuing after the HPA found a potential link with three sufferers and advised closure.

Godstone Farm, in Surrey, closed last Saturday and its sister farm – Horton Park Children’s Farm, in Epsom – shut later because of “unsatisfactory” hygiene arrangements. No cases of E coli O157 have been linked to the site. White Post Farm, in Nottinghamshire, was also closed after two visitors were confirmed to be suffering from the same strain of E coli.

The results of tests carried out at Godstone Farm will be announced today.

Bug that helps you stay healthy

E COLI is a common bug that is present everywhere in the environment and typically helps people stay healthy by providing the body with vitamins, but some strains are potentially very dangerous.

● E coli, or Escherichia coli, is a species of bacterium which is found in the intestines of animals and humans.

● The bug normally lives in the intestines, where it helps break down and digest food.

● Certain strains of the bacteria can get from the intestines into the blood. This is a rare illness, but can cause a serious infection.

● Typical symptoms of someone with E coli infection are stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.

● E coli was discovered by German paediatrician and bacteriologist Theodor Escherich in 1885.

● Food poisoning caused by the bug usually results from eating unwashed vegetables or undercooked meat.

● Certain strains, such as O157, can produce potentiallylethal toxins.

● It can be especially dangerous in young children because they cannot tolerate much fluid loss.

● The strain first appeared in Britain in the Eighties.