WARNINGS are issued every year about the perils of ticks and the problems their bites can cause those working the land – and for one Ayrshire farmer, those dire warnings have unfortunately become a reality.

David Farmery (80), who farms at Artnoch just outside of Barrhill in Ayrshire, is finding himself being pushed into selling his farm and retiring, because of the chronic fatigue and other issues brought on by Lyme disease.

"I've been feeling like I've been dealing with it for quite a few years now" explained David, who farms with his wife Jennifer, "to begin with I thought it might be the ill effects of using OP dips – the symptoms have been very similar, but that's been ruled out."

David admitted that he'd been aware of being bitten by ticks over the years and said he had simply removed them and didn't think too much of it.

"I wasn't aware that if they left a red ring around the bite site after removal, that it was a tick that was going to cause you problems. If I'd simply gone and got a course of antibiotics at that stage, things could have been far different."

Now he wants to make other farmers aware of the fact that a quick trip to the doctors could make all the difference in the long term. David has now been subject to a string of blood tests and doctors visits, and although some Lyme disease tests have come back negative, a meeting with a renowned expert on the disease, Dr Gordon Baird, has confirmed his fears that all of his symptoms are very consistent with the illness.

The main issue now is that David no longer feels he is fit enough to run the farm, and, with his hand forced, he has sold almost all of his 283-owned acres, and given up his 270-rented acres as well. The couple now only have 17 acres left, and the home they moved into when they moved to the area from North Wales 17 years ago.

"A turning point for me was really when I was kicked at a cattle scanning. Usually I would have had the balance to steady myself and get out of the way, but in this instance I couldn't stop myself falling. It made me realise I shouldn't be handling cattle.

"For want of a better phrase, I almost walk like I'm drunk now. I've little to no balance, and I can't walk the hill ground I need to to work the farm."

However, David has also been faced with string of new issues, as he is trying to sell the entitlements that go with his land, and is facing massive payment problems. He is selling his house and remaining land, and has started the process of building a new home on another site, but the hold up in his payment is stalling the process.

"I'm lucky I have understanding builders" he said, "but to have such income tied up in red tape, with seemingly no chance of receiving it until later in the year, is so frustrating. I've been forced to retire under duress, and now that I am, I'm struggling to get a proper start into the next chapter in my life.

"I've recently been to an infectious disease specialist who has put me on a course of penicillin that will hopefully relieve some of my symptoms, but now we have financial worries to contend with as well. It really has been one thing after another, and it may well have all stemmed from a tick bite several years ago!"