SCORES of birds at a Worcestershire swan rescue centre were being culled today after tests confirmed an outbreak of bird flu.

It comes on the day that the government brought in a new national poultry ‘lockdown’ because of the number of confirmed outbreaks.

Last week we told how the Wychbold Swan Rescue centre was closed down because of a suspected outbreak after nine swans and a number of chickens died.

Those fears were confirmed yesterday and this morning officials from the DEFRA (Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs) arrived on scene to cull between 40 and 50 birds.

They include chickens, ducks and geese along with the swans the centre is known for.

The virus has been detected in swans in Worcester and Evesham, and the working theory is that the disease was brought into the centre by swans rescued from Evesham.

Jan Harrigan from the rescue centre said: ‘All the birds are being culled. This is a very sad day. Heaven help anyone who has got the same.”

Their rescue operations are now on hold. Jan said she did not know how long that would be, but thought at least a month.

“All we can do is follow the rules.”

The Swan outbreak is the latest of nine that DEFRA are pinpointing as evidence of the need for the new nationwide lockdown of poultry to keep captive birds away from wild ones.

As of today, December 14, DEFRA say: “All bird keepers must keep their birds indoors and follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease.

“Public health advice is that the risk to human health from the virus is very low and food standards bodies advise that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers, and it does not affect the consumption of poultry products including eggs.”