Bernard Matthew bids for Banham Poultry where workers died

Banham Poultry has been in business since 1965 and is based in Attleborough

Turkey producer Bernard Matthews has confirmed it is one of two interested parties bidding for a Norfolk poultry business where two workers died.

Banham Poultry in Attleborough, which has about 1,000 staff, announced earlier this week it was up for sale.

Bernard Matthews said, if successful, it would retain Banham workers across its seven sites in East Anglia.

The Attleborough factory remains cordoned off after two subcontractors were found dead on Thursday.

The men - whose deaths may be linked to a suspected gas leak - were found dead near to the Station Road factory at 01:10 BST.

• Men die in suspected gas leak at Banham Poultry

Banham Poultry said it was deeply saddened by the deaths of the men, aged in their 30s and 40s, who were from a pest control company.

An investigation, involving Norfolk Police and the Health and Safety Executive, is continuing.

The company has been based at Attleborough since 1965 and is one of the area's biggest employers.

Chief executive Martyn Bromley said trade had "not been good for the last two or three months" but he hoped to find a buyer who could operate the family-run firm "more efficiently".

He added his "main objective" was to "maintain employment in Attleborough".

Bernard Matthews, which employs 3,000 people in East Anglia, said it would review the site as part of any purchase and would retain Banham workers.

Police said they expected investigations to take place at Banham Poultry all day on Friday

"If successful, we can immediately transfer 160 employees who work in Banham's agricultural base, securing all these roles, and therefore many other jobs in the supply chain," it said.

"Additionally, we are very hopeful all remaining Banham colleagues can be redeployed across our sites in East Anglia."

Police said they expected to remain at Banham Poultry all day as officers tried to determine whether a refrigeration gas leak was linked to the men's deaths.

Post-mortem examinations are also due to take place.

Earlier, Greater Anglia said train services were running as normal at Attleborough railway station after 24 hours of disruption related to the incident.