Suffolk couple's egg business decimated by bird flu outbreak

Will and Mandy Fisin, pictured with their daughter Poppy, said they have had no income since December

A farming couple who lost their entire flock of chickens, bantams and geese to bird flu before Christmas said they still cannot operate three months on.

The HN51 virus was found in a handful of hens at Elmsett Game Farm at Great Cornard, near Sudbury, Suffolk.

Mandy and Will Fisin said their free-range egg business of 35 years was ruined when all 8,000 birds had to be culled in December.

"We had a business then all of a sudden it's gone overnight," Mr Fisin added.

"We don't know what to do, where to turn - it's devastating."

The Fisins have had no income since December and were awaiting confirmation from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that they can restock their hen houses, which could take months.

The couple were compensated for the cull but the lost sales and disinfecting the farm and replacing the flock will cost them £100,000, they added.

Meanwhile, a further case of bird flu has been identified in the Woodbridge area, the eighth in Suffolk since 26 February.

Suffolk Trading Standards said it was asking keepers to "remain vigilant and to keep their birds under cover, away from wild birds and do everything they can to stop this disease from spreading".

A 3km (two-mile) protection zone has been set up around the latest outbreak, which is in a domestic backyard flock rather than a farm or business.

A wider surveillance zone has been created around it up to 10km (six miles) from the centre.

Earlier this week, there were outbreaks at Tuddenham St Martin, near Ipswich, and Stowmarket.