Farmers' leaders are calling for a bird flu lockdown imposed on Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Essex to be rolled out nationally as the crisis deepens.

The government ordered poultry farmers and backyard flocks and bird keepers across the three counties to bring their birds indoors from Wednesday (October 12) to combat a worrying rise in cases across the region.

But the National Farmers' Union (NFU) called on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to go one step further and is urging it to look at imposing a national housing restriction.

NFU poultry board chairman James Mottershead said: “The sheer persistence of avian influenza over the past year, coupled with soaring energy and feed costs, has put the whole British poultry sector under huge emotional and financial pressure.

"Given the recent rise in cases and the distress they cause for farming families, the implementation of housing measures in the east of England is a necessary step.

“The number one priority for poultry farmers has always been the health and welfare of their flock and it’s devastating for any farmer to see that compromised. That is why the NFU is now urging DEFRA to consider expanding the regional housing measures on a national basis to reflect any increase in the levels of risk across the country.

“Maintaining stringent biosecurity measures continues to be vital for all bird keepers, whether you are a poultry farmer or someone who keeps a small number of hens in the garden. We will continue to work with the government and the chief veterinary officer to try to minimise the risk of future outbreaks across the country, and to get on top of this disease.”

DEFRA has already imposed stricter biosecurity measures for all bird keepers in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex - including a string of access and disinfection rules - but some in the industry felt the measures didn't go far enough.

Alaistaire Brice, of free range egg producer Havensfield Happy Hens, at Hoxne, near Eye, said at the time that government vets needed to go further and impose a full lockdown to curb the spread of the disease.

The chief veterinary officer is now encouraging all bird keepers in the affected regions to use the next few days to prepare - including taking steps to safeguard animal welfare, consult their private vet and expand housing where necessary.

Christine Middlemiss said: “We are seeing a growing number of bird flu cases on commercial farms and in backyard birds across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, and expect the risk to continue to rise over the coming months as migratory birds return to the UK.

“We are now taking further action to help protect flocks from this highly infectious and devastating disease.

“Keepers in these hotspots must continue to follow strict biosecurity standards to protect their flock, and should use the next few days to prepare and move their birds indoors.”

The bird lockdown comes after the disease was detected at 16 premises in the affected areas since the beginning of September, as well as several reports in wild birds.

The latest cases o highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was confirmed in poultry and captive birds on October 9 at a third premises near Heybridge, Maldon and a premises near Witham.

A 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone were declared around each premises with all birds on the premises humanely culled.

Since the latest series of cases, tens of thousands of chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks have been slaughtered to try to stop the disease spreading further.

Andrew Blenkiron, chairman of the Suffolk branch of the NFU, said Suffolk poultry farmers were worried.

"The housing order should help, but it would appear that the disease is circulating quite widely in the wild bird population now," he said.

"This has been the case for a number of winters now, the fact that the disease never seemed to go away this summer is a major worry. The question is what can be done about it now."