The Animal Aid organisation said that their undercover video suggested that the Yorkshire business should not be allowed to expand on a new farm, currently the subject of a planning application, in Rufforth.

The investigation allegedly showed piles of dead birds, birds with missing feathers and "birds collapsing under their excessive body weight".

In a separate news release, Animal Aid also claimed that a planning application for a free-range egg farm in Kent had been withdrawn because of the organisation's intervention.

Animal Aid said it had provided the local council with undercover footage from the company's other farms, which were filmed on enriched cage egg farms.

The statement added: "Although no reason is provided for the application being withdrawn, Animal Aid is confident that its investigation was a decisive factor."