THE midnight chimes which welcome the new year have never been more keenly awaited than on the first farm in North Yorkshire to succumb to this year's foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Mr William Lambert and his wife, Claire, admit they will be glad to see the back of 2001 and eagerly await the dawn of a new year and, they pray, new hope throughout the Wensleydale farming community.

With the arrival on Monday, January 7, of 70 dairy cows from Staffordshire, their holding at Raygill House will be home to livestock for the first time in ten months.

Foot-and-mouth was confirmed at Raygill, half-way between Bainbridge and Hawes, on March 7, sparking an outbreak which was to wipe out dozens of farms in the dale.

Their dairy herd, the product of 40 years of breeding, was culled and burned along with their sheep. The farm was steam cleaned and disinfected before being effectively mothballed until the authorities were satisfied the area was virus-free.

"Our four months was up on November 11, but we didn't rush out to restock because we were still concerned there was a possibility of the virus still being around," said Mr Lambert. "We weren't going to start until we were happy that it was safe. We decided, when we got into December, that we would look round for new cows."

An advert in the farming press drew their attention to a Staffordshire farmer who was quitting the business and selling his 70-strong dairy herd.

"We went to look at the cows and took a video of them so that we could study it when we got home," said Mrs Lambert. "We liked what we saw but, for every farm selling cows at the moment, there are four or five farms after them. We were lucky; after about a week the farmer offered us them."

Aware that Staffordshire had remained foot-and-mouth free, the Lamberts were ultra cautious about visiting and went to great lengths to prepare for the journey.

"We even bought new wellingtons in Hawes on the way to Staffordshire because we were so aware that we were travelling from a farm that had been infected to an area that hadn't had foot-and-mouth," said Mrs Lambert. "We opened them when we got to the other farm and we had made sure all our clothes were newly laundered."

The couple have also identified a bull - a Limousin from Mr Richard Bradley's testing farm at Finghall, near Leyburn.

"Our last bull, Oscar, came from there and it was very sad when he had to be put down," said Mrs Lambert.

Before the new cows arrive, the milking parlour, dismantled after the rigorous disinfecting process, must be reassembled as soon as Defra gives the go-ahead.

While they anxiously awaited the arrival of the new herd, the Lamberts and their daughters Fiona, aged four, and two-year-old Rachel, looked forward to their first "real" family Christmas.

"It will be the first time since I left school that I won't be milking at Christmas and new year," said Mr Lambert. "We are looking forward to getting back to farming, of course, but it will be nice to spend Christmas morning in the house and not have to rush off to do jobs."

The foot-and-mouth crisis also allowed the Lamberts to have their first holiday this summer, when they flew to Cyprus. "We were away from farming and there was no conversation about foot-and-mouth because we didn't tell anyone we were farmers," said Mrs Lambert. "It was just nice to go away and be 'normal'."

The pair have no plans to return to sheep farming but will concentrate on dairying and return to supplying the Wensleydale creamery at Hawes, which lost almost half its suppliers to the disease.

"The dale should be more or less back to normal by March," said Mr Lambert. "I know quite a few members who supply the creamery who have got their cows sourced and are waiting until their four months are up in January.

"People have done Sentinel stocking with sheep and there should be some lambs around in the spring, although they will probably be later than usual."

Mrs Lambert and the children have particularly missed the sound of cattle on their farm. "It will be nice to have some noise going on out there," she said. "It has just been so silent. The other thing that struck me when we walked among the cows in Staffordshire was just being able to breathe in their smell, because I've missed that. Our farm has been so clean."

The family is also desperate to get back to drinking home-produced milk instead of the bottles and cartons they have used - for the first time ever - over the last ten months.

"William still hasn't got used to bought milk; the cats have done very well this year!" said Mrs Lambert.

While getting back to normal is the aim, Mr Lambert appreciates that the foot-and-mouth crisis has changed some aspects of farming for ever.

"Biosecurity is here to stay," he said. "It is not just for foot-and-mouth but it will stop all sorts of other diseases being passed from farm to farm.

"There is a great danger that people will slip back into the old ways because biosecurity is quite costly and requires some effort. However, I hope people will remain vigilant, because it gives us the chance to contain all kinds of farmyard diseases."

He also intends to continue active involvement in Rejuvenate, a self help group set up by farmers and others in the agriculture industry to offer advice and support during the crisis.

"Rejuvenate won't be dissolved in the short or medium term," he said. "I hope it will meet regularly as a discussion group and perhaps attract important speakers. I also hope it will continue to lobby for political change in the agriculture industry."

In the meantime, all at Raygill look forward to a new and brighter year. "I am very confident for the future," said Mr Lambert. "The new cows are going to produce very good quality milk and we will get back into the top 10pc of farms."