Poultry will be culled after a bird flu outbreak at a farm near Taverham - the fourth Norfolk case confirmed in the last month.

Animal health officials identified a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza at the commercial premises on January 10.

Defra said all poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place.

Eastern Daily Press: Defra confirmed a bird flu case at a poultry farm near Taverham on January 10Defra confirmed a bird flu case at a poultry farm near Taverham on January 10 (Image: Defra)

It is the fifth case confirmed near Taverham since the country's worst-ever bird outbreak began in October 2021, with more than 270 cases across England sparking the culls of more than three million birds.

The pace of the outbreak has slowed since its peak in autumn when Norfolk recorded more than 40 cases in October alone.

But recent cases in the county have included a Gressingham duck farm near Fakenham on January 4, and two near Diss on December 17 and 30 - following two more just south of the Suffolk border at Redgrave on December 8 and 11.

Government vets have enforced strict biosecurity measures and a mandatory housing order requiring all captive birds to be kept indoors, ranging from backyard flocks to commercial free-range farms.