THE farming community is heaving a sigh of relief after the Griffin Report quashed fears that children would be banned from touching animals.

The report was set up to investigate the outbreak of E-coli 0157 at Godstone Farm, near Redhill, Surrey, in August last year – in which 93 people, including children, became ill.

While aware of the distress caused to those affected, the result of the report, released this week, will not, as some had feared, result in an outright ban on visits to or by open or mobile educational farms.

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.