STANDING with placards in hand outside a mass foot-and- mouth burial site has become a daily routine to people living in the closely-knit community of Tow Law.

The residents have fought against the use of the former open- cast mine site for the disposal of dead animals since the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced its intentions in April.

Margaret Hobson, who lives in the town's High Street, has been among many protestors making the daily journey to the site to demand its closure.

"We will go there every day until it is closed. There is not a single day that goes by when there isn't a smell coming from that place and people seem to always have a sore throat or a headache or something," she said.

Mrs Hobson and her husband, Donald, 57, have lived in the village all their lives and both the couple's parents came from the town.

Their youngest daughter, Claire, lives with them, and elder daughter Deborah lives just six doors away with her young family.

"I have always liked Tow Law because it is a close-knit place and I have always got on well with everybody and never wanted to live anywhere else,'' said Mrs Hobson.

"It used to be a standing joke that people used to move up here for the clean air, but they cannot say that now.''

Although she does not think she and her husband would leave the town she said she would encourage her children to move on.

Last month, Mrs Hobson was among a group of women and one man arrested for refusing to move from the entrance of the site. She was cautioned for her part in the protest.

She said: "I would say I would do it again, because it is something I believe in, but I would not do it right now.

"We weren't doing anything wrong because it was public land. We just refused to move. They picked on every woman who had been there every day. The only reason they picked that man is because he rolled in front of the wagon.

"I think I was picked because I have been on the radio and television, and if I think I'm right and I have something to say, I will say it. I wouldn't say I am ashamed of being arrested, but it was degrading and I was upset."

Her husband and family are proud of her stand and are backing the fight all the way.

She said: "We don't feel safe here. We have not had the sort of bad weather that Tow Law can get since this started, but if we do what is going to happen with that site? We think it will flood.''

Many of the protestors live with the fear that the eight trenches which will house the animals could collapse into the mines on the site.

They know that in the past nearby homes have been lost after falling into shafts.

Despite reassurances from Maff that the site is extremely safe, many believe that there is a risk of water contamination and the release of toxic gasses into the air from the bodies of the animals.

Mrs Hobson said: "It is like sitting waiting for a time bomb to go off and the majority of people feel like that.

"We have got to live with that for the rest of our lives. What if something goes wrong in five years or ten years, or even when our grandchildren have children? That is why we are fighting this, for the children, and we won't go away until it is closed.''

Maff has stated all along that the site, which could hold up to 200,000 carcasses, has been built to the highest safety standards and that it will be monitored on a daily basis for water contamination and toxic fumes

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.