'Bird flu outbreak' as dead swans found near lake

Several dead swans with blue eyes have been discovered at a lake

Experts have warned of a bird flu outbreak after dead swans were found near a popular lake.

The five birds at Backwell Lake, near Bristol, on Sunday morning displayed signs of Avian Influenza, including blue eyes, animal charity Curious Critters said.

It comes as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) issued a mandatory housing order to cover England following escalating numbers of the virus.

A Curious Critter spokesperson posted on Facebook saying: "We are very confident we are looking at an Avian Influenza outbreak and would ask that the community please follow the guidelines."

They added: "Retrieving the deceased swans will have played a huge role in safeguarding the remaining wildlife."

So far this season - which began in October - there have been 26 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, external (HPAI) H5N1 on farms across the UK, with 22 in England.

The public has been urged to keep dogs on leads and not feed wild waterfowl including ducks and geese.

Sarah Godwin, free range egg producer, said it would be "catastrophic" if bird flu reached her farm

Sarah Godwin, farmer and free range egg producer at Middle Farm in Chippenham, Wiltshire, warned if the strain hit her farm it would be "catastrophic".

She said: "[The hens] constitutes about half of our business.

"It would be absolutely catastrophic if we got struck down with bird flu - all your birds would be culled.

"You're not allowed to re-stock for a certain number of months after you've had cases of bird flu and we are very fortunate that we do have some insurance for it."

She knows lots of producers who have not been able to get insurance for bird flu as the risk is considered too high, Ms Godwin added.

A Defra spokesperson said bird keepers must house all poultry and captive birds if they keep more than 50.

Christine Middlemiss, UK chief veterinary officer, said the move would "bring the rates of infection down from the high we are currently experiencing".

The UK Health Security Agency has said the risk to the public's health is "very low", while the Food Standards Agency said bird flu poses a very low food safety risk and that properly-cooked poultry and eggs are safe to eat.