BEING at the centre of the Legionnaires' disease crisis is a nightmare for world-famous Bulmers Cider.

The potentially deadly bacteria has been found at the Hereford factory but whether it sparked the outbreak has yet to be established.

At the centre of investigation is the cooling plant off Plough Lane.

To be told it was contaminated by Legionnella came as a great shock to Bulmers' management and its 500 employees.

General manager Willie Crawshaw said a large company like Bulmers took its responsibilities very seriously.

The plant was maintained and tested by external contractors, checked for Legionella every three months and weekly for biological contamination, he said.

Tests were carried out on November 4 with no cause for concern.

Three days later, on Friday, November 7 environmental health officers tested all water appliances, including the towers in the plant.

As in all other cases of testing in Hereford they advised Bulmers to carry out 'shock chlorination' of the system as an extra precaution.

At midday, Wednesday November 12 came the bombshell that a test had made a 'presumptive positive' suggesting Legionella was in one tower.

Bulmers immediately closed the cooling plant, and part of the line they served - where apples are reduced to concentrated juice. The water involved cools the large evaporation unit. More tests that day confirming the continued presence of Legionella.

The whole plant was closed on November 12 and, if one tower had been responsible, could pose no danger after that, said Mr Crawshaw.

The company was working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the plant stays shut as work continues to clean it.

It was not known if the cooling plant would open again this season, and it was unlikely the large chimneys that steam over the city - definitely not implicated in the scare - would start until next season.

"There is no urgency for these, and we want to do everything absolutely right and to be absolutely safe and sure,"he said.

The safety of the public was top priority and Bulmers considered the economy of Hereford a very important issue.

"We must get the city centre back to normal, if, indeed there has been a drop in the number of shoppers," said Mr Crawshaw