A WOMAN who had been staying just yards away from a foot-and-mouth outbreak zone in England was shocked to be able to walk back into Guernsey unchecked. Cobo resident Jacqui Le Breton had been staying at her sister’s home in Elstead, Surrey, whose garden backs directly on to the contaminated area.

But she flew into Guernsey from Gatwick on Monday night to find virtually no measures in place to keep the disease out of the island.

‘I think airport and airline staff should have been asking people if they had been in the affected area,’ said the dental hygienist, who had the foresight to leave her own and her children’s shoes behind in the UK. They all travelled back in brand-new footwear.

‘I actually said to an Aurigny member of staff that I’d been in the foot-and-mouth area, but they didn’t instruct me to do anything.

‘And there were no foot dips at the airport, which was quite staggering.’

Her sister had organised to house-swap her Surrey home with a Californian family and Ms Le Breton, her son, Jacques, 10, and daughter Elise, 5, had gone along too. It was only when they returned to London that they heard the news.

‘We hadn’t watched TV in California so didn’t know anything about the outbreak.’

But the American house guests had left their shoes behind. ‘They were health workers and knew the risks,’ she said.

During their time in the UK, the children were also instructed not to play on common land near the area. These precautions made her particularly disappointed at what happened upon arrival in Guernsey.

‘Just by having the footbaths available and having a note on the airport desks asking people to inform staff if they had visited an infected area, all this could be prevented,’ she said. ‘It’s not a lot of trouble to go to.’

Responding to the criticisms, a spokesman for Aurigny stated that the airline acted upon instructions from BAA and the airport itself.

And Guernsey Airport director Colin Le Ray said it had followed Commerce and Employment’s advice against using disinfectant trays for incoming travellers. Richard Nash, director of client services for the department, explained that it was a question of risk and that

it had acted upon information received

at the time.

Despite these reassurances, Ms Le Breton still believes not enough had been done.

‘Farmers have got a hard enough job as it is,’ she said. ‘Other people might have thought to get rid of their shoes.

‘If it spread here, it could seriously affect livelihoods. Farmers must be absolutely beside themselves with worry.’

James Watts, spokesman for the Guernsey Farmers’ Association, said it was important to maintain a balance.

‘Commerce and Employment has made its assessment of risk. We’re in their hands,’ he said.

‘The way the outbreak has gone so far, it hasn’t escalated in a way that would give us cause for concern. And if we were put under greater restrictions, there would be a danger people would say there had been an overreaction.’

In a statement at the weekend Commerce and Employment, which is working closely with the States veterinary officer, said it was continuing to monitor the two confirmed incidents and one suspected case of foot-and-mouth in Surrey.

It added: ‘The latest veterinary assessment of the situation is that the risk of infection being carried to the island has not materially changed since earlier this week and the existing controls remain as they were in response to the first outbreak in Surrey, confirmed on Friday 3 August.’