SPECULATION was growing this week that the foot and mouth outbreak could spell the end for roaming Forest sheep.

As fires were being prepared to burn an infected flock at Old Street Farm, Nibley, near Blakeney, one local farmer said he believed it was inevitable the disease would now spread to the local sheep population. Even as he spoke news of a third county outbreak at Chaxhill, near Westbury-on-Severn was confirmed.

"These animals would have had to be destroyed because of contact anyway but when we went on site they were found to be infected," said a Gloucestershire Trading Standards spokesman.

Farmer Humphrey Phelps said he believed it could be the beginning of the end for the centuries-old tradition of free-grazing in the Forest of Dean.

"It could be that the authorities will view this as a pretty good wicket to prevent them from ever coming back," Mr Phelps told the Review.

Ministry teams moved quickly to try to contain the Nibley outbreak and posses of police and press and television crews appeared on the scene as the road outside the farm was coned off as a sanitised area.

There were angry scenes too as stray sheep which moved up into the cordoned area were rounded up, taken back to Old Street farm against their owner's wishes and destroyed.

The Review understands many badgers (commoners) have now contained their animals rather than let them roam in woodland.

However for Forest Enterprise, Val Long said the position remained unchanged and the advice from MAFF was that the estimated 4,000 sheep in the Forest should remain relatively undisturbed.

An emergency meeting was being held in Gloucester to further discuss the situation on Tuesday.

Sheep owners had been instructed to keep flocks within the Forest and not allow them to stray into towns or villages.

She said Forest Enterprise would continue to support the tradition of grazing and it was recognised that woodland pasture enriched biodiversity. Indeed, grazing was now being encouraged in other parts of the country.

"Without them the Forest would be a very, very different place, but it has to be recognised that out of all this there will inevitably be changes."

Commoners leader Don Johns said he had heard no advice since the Ministry of Agriculture ordered sheep to be kept firmly in Forest bounds.

"We must hope for the best. We have moved from being a controlled area into being an infected area. It is now very serious," he said.

•As the outbreak began to take a stranglehold on tourism and other rural industries in the area, Kate Biggs at the Dean Heritage Centre said the situation looked "grim".

"On Sunday the Heritage Centre had just 20 visitors instead of the usual 250 or so. School parties are cancelling one after another," she said.

The Three Counties Agricultural Society announced they still planned to go ahead with the Spring Garden Show from May 11-13 on the Malvern showground.

"There are no animals involved and we don't have stock on the showground so for the moment we are just adhering to normal precautions since we are outside any of the infected areas," said a spokesman.

"At the moment the Three Counties Show itself is scheduled for June 14-16 and we shall obviously review this situation as it develops."

Chepstow Racecourse was waiting to hear from the British Horseracing Board if it should go ahead with its next meeting on March 21, but because of the Llancloudy outbreak two meetings had already been lost.

And Hartpury College has told all students who live on farms to stay at home – it is dealing with their course work over the phone or by post.