Thousands of birds have been culled in Suffolk in recent weeks after farms across the county reported outbreaks of avian flu.

Businesses started reporting cases of bird flu from mid-September, prompting fears there would be a shortage of turkeys this Christmas.

According to Suffolk Trading Standards, which has been reporting outbreaks of the disease, the first case this autumn was found in west Suffolk.

Since then, farms towards the east of the county have also identified cases.

The cases reported since mid-September are:

  • Little Livermere, September 18
  • Fakenham Magna, September 20
  • Fakenham Magna, September 23
  • Nedging, September 26
  • Mutford, September 29
  • Little Livermere, October 3
  • Stoke-by-Nayland, October 5
  • Great Whelnetham, October 10
  • Needham Market, Otober 17
  • Halesworth, October 22
  • Sternfield, October 30

East Anglia been at the epicentre of a nationwide outbreak which in October alone recorded 88 bird flu cases across the UK, affecting 2.7million birds.

Business leaders in Suffolk and Norfolk are calling on new Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey to tackle "serious flaws" in the government response to the outbreak.

LEP chief executive Chris Starkie told a meeting with businesses this week: "Our region is being hit harder than any other by this crisis.

"We want to back our colleagues in the poultry sector and use our influence to secure more support for those who risk going out of business in the fallout from this."

East Anglia provides between 18% to 20% of the UK's chickens, turkeys and ducks.