In a chilling echo of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis, "keep- out" notices were posted on gates which will remain closed until a final all-clear.

Castleton Farm, near Stewarton, Ayrshire, has been cordoned off by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Their officials acted after some of the 40,000 hens fell ill.

And they said initial tests for avian flu and another bird killer, Newcastle disease, were negative.

The Scots swoop came as the deadliest type of bird flu - H5N1 - was found in the Danube Delta in Romania, 1200 miles from Britain.

Scientists confirmed the strain had been traced in samples taken from the Eastern European country and sent for analysis to a laboratory in Surrey.

Source: The Sunday Mail