THE farmer blamed for starting the foot-and-mouth crisis is to quit the industry.

Bobby Waugh, 56, says he has lost heart after he was made a scapegoat by Government officials.

He has given up the tenancy of Burnside Farm, at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, after 40 years as a farmer.

The revelation came as National Farmers' Union (NFU) officials admitted that hundreds of farmers had quit the land because of the ravages of foot-and-mouth.

Rob Simpson, spokesman for the NFU in the North-East, said yesterday that Mr Waugh's case was the "tip of the iceberg".

He said: "We estimate that about 10,000 farmers have had their entire stock culled.

"Based on anecdotal evidence, up to ten per cent of those may have left farming, which would be a figure running into the hundreds.

"The farming industry has been in recession for the past four years and foot-and-mouth was simply the last nail in the coffin for many people."

Mr Waugh still faces 22 animal health charges over the epidemic, with his farm pinpointed as the likely source of the outbreak which devastated the industry.

It resulted in 3,912,700 cattle being slaughtered nationally, with 376,125 of those in the North-East, costing the region £200m.

Mr Waugh said: "I have just had enough. I have given 40 years of my life to farming. I have never even had a day off in all that time.

"I have said all along I am a scapegoat for foot-and-mouth. It never started at my place. I have lost everything. I have now given up the tenancy and that is it for me."

Since the virus was discovered on February 22, the farm has stood idle as Mr Waugh and officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wrangled over who should foot the bill for the clean-up.

Now, the landlord-owner of Burnside Farm, Phillip Leadbitter, has applied to Defra for a licence to start clean-up work, which will involve disinfecting the entire premises.

Meanwhile, Mr Waugh, who has pleaded not guilty to 22 animal health allegations, is expected to go on trial in May.

He is charged with numerous offences under the Animal Health Act l981, the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and Trade Descriptions Act, in a case being brought by Northumberland County Council.

Mr Waugh said he wanted to clear his name, adding that he was "not the villain of the piece".

Figures released by Defra show that 7,800 farm workers left the industry in the 12 months to June this year, which takes into account the first six months of foot-and-mouth.

Ian Hedley and his wife, Dorothy, have farmed at Cornsay, near Tow Low, County Durham, for 30 years.

They had their entire stock of 300 sheep and 80 beef cattle culled and said they were now considering their options over whether to stay in farming.

Mrs Hedley said: "We are seeing this year out, but at the moment do not know which way to jump.

"People do not want farmers nowadays and it costs money to do anything else, so whether we will carry on we have yet to decide."

* An announcement is expected on Monday as to whether the four remaining counties - County Durham, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland - deemed to be at risk from foot-and-mouth will be declared free of the disease