Bird flu: Restrictions in place after South Yorkshire outbreak

A 2-mile (3km) protection zone and a 6-mile (10km) surveillance zone have been put in place around the area

Restrictions have been put in place following an outbreak of bird flu in South Yorkshire.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the H5N1 virus "was confirmed in commercial poultry" at a site near Cantley in Doncaster.

A 2-mile (3km) protection zone and a 6-mile (10km) surveillance zone have been put in place around the area.

All the birds on the affected premises will be humanely killed, Defra said.

Bird flu is an infectious disease of poultry and wild birds that has been around for a century. It usually flares up in autumn before fading away in spring and summer.

It can spread through entire flocks of domestic birds within a matter of days, through birds' droppings and saliva, or through contaminated feed and water.

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The H5N1 virus, which is the most prevalent strain now, was first reported in China in 1996.

The outbreak comes just days after national restrictions were lifted, allowing poultry and captive birds to be kept outside again.

Last week, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said there was a suspected outbreak of avian flu at one of its nature reserves in East Yorkshire after a number of black-heed gulls were found dead.