Farm closes after illness reported in visitors

Investigators are expected to attend Baylham House Farm next week

A farm attraction has temporarily closed after four reports of visitors catching cryptosporidium and E. coli.

Baylham House Farm near Ipswich is a popular visitor attraction with families.

It closed on Wednesday and investigators for government agencies are expected to visit next week.

Neil Storer, the farm director, said the attraction was "deeply concerned" to hear of the sickness.

"We will be working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and environmental health [officers] to determine the source of these infections as quickly as possible," he said.

Mr Storer wished the visitors a "speedy recovery".

'Devastated'

Once safe the farm said it would reopen.

Farm manager Kate Ockelton added: "The health and safety of our visitors and the health and welfare of our animals are the primary aims of our staff.

"We work so hard to ensure that we achieve both.

"We have seen no clinical signs of sickness in our animals so we are devastated to hear of this illness."

According to the NHS, E. coli is a bacterial infection which can cause severe stomach pain, diarrhoea and in extreme circumstances, kidney failure.

It can be caught by eating contaminated food, by touching infected animals and by coming into contact with people who have the illness.

Cryptosporidium is a parasite infection of animals which can be passed to humans, says the NHS.

Similarly it can cause diarrhoea and can be caught by coming into direct contact with pets and farm animals.

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