Bird flu found in North Yorkshire back yard

Bird flu has been found in a small flock in a back yard in North Yorkshire, the UK’s chief veterinary officer said, warning that people who kept chickens and ducks in their gardens needed to be vigilant.

A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the infected premises, near Settle, to limit the risk of the disease spreading. The remaining live birds in the small flock of chickens and ducks are being humanely culled, the department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

The same H5N8 strain of avian flu has been confirmed at a poultry farm in Lincolnshire and at a premises in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It has also been found in wild birds in England, Scotland and Wales.

The advice from Public Health England is that the risk to public health from the virus is very low. The Food Standards Agency has made clear that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.

The chief veterinary officer, Nigel Gibbens, said: “We have taken swift action to limit the risk of the disease spreading. Restrictions are now in place around the affected premises and a full investigation is under way to determine the source of the infection.

“This finding in a back yard flock shows how essential it is for all poultry owners, even those who just keep a few birds as pets, to do everything they can to keep them separate from wild birds and minimise the risk of them catching avian flu via the environment.

“This means keeping birds in a suitable building where possible, and taking precautions such as putting up netting, keeping food and water inside and disinfecting footwear and equipment after contact with birds.”

An avian influenza prevention zone that has been in place since 6 December will be extended until 28 February to help protect poultry and captive birds from avian flu, Gibbens said.

The zone requires keepers of poultry and other captive birds to continue to keep their birds indoors, or take appropriate practical steps to keep them separate from wild birds.

It covers England and similar declarations have been made in Scotland and Wales. There is also a Britain-wide ban on poultry shows and gatherings.

Bird flu found in North Yorkshire back yard

Tribunal rules Yorkshire Ripper can be sent to mainstream prison

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Peter Sutcliffe, now known as Peter Coonan, may be released from Broadmoor after mental illness judged to be under control

The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 women during the 1970s, may be released from Broadmoor, the secure psychiatric hospital, and sent to a mainstream prison after a tribunal concluded his mental illness was under control.

Sutcliffe was given 20 life sentences when he was convicted in 1981 but in 1984 was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and transferred to Broadmoor.

Related: Police review claims of unsolved Yorkshire Ripper attacks

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Tribunal rules Yorkshire Ripper can be sent to mainstream prison

Tyre fire at Yorkshire recycling plant seen from room - video and pictures

Taken by @djsalt1 by way of Instagram at Sherburn Aero Club on Thursday

A fire involving 15,000 tonnes of tyres at the Newgen Recycling plant in Sherburn-in-Elmet, near Leeds blanketed York in black smoke with heights of up to six,000ft.

The fire started out Thursday at around 08:forty GMT but the lead to of the huge blaze is however unknown. 

Photograph: @NorthYorksFire

Smoke from the fire was picked up by a Nasa satellite picture displaying the enormous plume of smoke towering over Yorkshire and the north of England.

A dark column of smoke was captured by a Nasa satellite – shown at the bottom right of the image Photograph: Nasa

Thick plume of black smoke witnessed from the Hull to Manchester train on Thursday. Photograph: Jonathan Cooke

North Yorkshire County Council recommended thirteen schools to maintain staff and pupils inside on Thursday, even though there have been no reviews of sick-well being as a outcome of the fire. 

Taken from Sherburn Higher School by @chelsmariexox on Instagram

Neighborhood residents had been suggested to keep indoors and maintain their windows and doors closed on Friday until additional notice. Public Health England’s Yorkshire &amp the Humber Centre said that the risk of long term health effects is likely to be really reduced with “publicity in excess of lengthy time period normally essential for harm to happen.”

@jblandy88 took this photo from his house in Brayton, Selby

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Support announced Friday morning that they were making it possible for the fire to burn up out: “We are scaling down our attendance but several fire crews continue to be at the scene, including two fire engines.”

Speaking to the BBC, North Yorkshire’s fire chief Nigel Hutchinson said that the fire is most likely to ”go on for days.”

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue announced they were scaling back operations Friday morning, with officers on site still functioning to stop the fire spreading. Photograph: @NorthYorksFire

A substantial volume water pump is relaying water from a pond at the edge of the web site. Water curtains protected the recycling plant overnight. Photograph: @NorthYorksFire

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Tyre fire at Yorkshire recycling plant seen from room - video and pictures