Bluetongue control zone extended

AN ANIMAL disease control zone has been extended into Bromley and Bexley after an outbreak of a killer virus at a farm in Kent.

Bluetongue, which can kill livestock, struck a cow on a farm near Sevenoaks.

The outbreak was confirmed on October 24 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), a government department responsible for the protection of agriculture.

As a result the boroughs of Bromley, Bexley and Croydon are now within the disease control zone.

A Defra spokesman said: "We have taken these measures to make sure the actual control zone is kept tight because of how near it is and how quickly the disease can spread.

"Defra is monitoring the zone by making random visits to different farms and conducting tests in different areas."