TRAGEDY: Livestock being burned at Sockbridge farm in the Eden Valley. Picture by Ian Cooper A FAMILY farm near Appleby will be forever remembered as dealing with the last case of foot and mouth which struck the county this week 20 years ago. By the time this was confirmed at Whygill Head Farm millions of animals in the UK had been slaughtered before the epidemic could be brought under control, with pyres of burning carcasses dominating the news coverage. It caused a major crisis in British agriculture and had a lasting effect on rural communities. Cumbria was the worst affected area of the UK with 893 separate outbreaks.