PLANS to begin a regular farmers' market have been put on hold until the foot and mouth crisis ends.

High Wycombe's Town Centre Association has been discussing the possibility of starting a regular farmers' market in the town, on the third Tuesday of every month, but members of the organisation said the plans would have to be postponed until the farmers had ridden out the problem.

Chris Mansfield, town centre manager for Wycombe District Council, said: "We started planning it more than six months ago. We have been discussing it both with the farmers and the street market here.

"We were all systems go for April 17 and that was the case until the foot and mouth outbreak.

"The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and The Thames Valley Farmers Market Association gave advice to postpone existing farmers' markets in any event.

"We have heeded that advice not least because the farmer helping to co-ordinate the market, who is from the north of the county, is suffering from the disease.

"It is disappointing but we are confident that we will get it going at some point in the future. We have got everything ready to go. It is just a question of when."

Farmer David Emmett, 51, from Rockwell End, was planning to sell fruit, vegetables and free-range eggs on the market.

He said: "I gave up my pigs because there was no money in them and I diversified into this.

"I think they have put it off quite rightly. To try and launch it at a time like this it would go off half-cocked and not be very successful."

Richard Paxton, manager of the Octagon Centre, High Wycombe, said: "We had a couple of occasions when there were three or four stalls on. There is a plan to extend it and do more.

"The negotiations have been going for a while to get a farmers' market set up. We are not moving it forward ourselves because we don't want to put them in a predicament and we understand it is a very rough time for the farmers.

"I think we have got to do everything we can to help them and if that means holding off for a while, let's hold off.

"The farmers' market will happen and we aim for it to be a success."