PUBLIC Health England has insisted the risk to human health is very low following a second outbreak of bird flu in the space of 24 hours.

Turkeys are to be slaughtered after an outbreak of avian flu at a second Norfolk farm in quick succession.

Birds at a farm near King's Lynn were found to have the H5N8 strain of avian flu, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

It was the ninth outbreak of bird flu in the UK this year.

A temporary 3km (1.9 mile) exclusion zone has been set up around the farm, which is about 40 miles away from an outbreak found near Attleborough.

Defra said the infected birds will be culled to limit the spread of the disease and has also set up a 10km (6.2 mile) surveillance zone around the farm near King's Lynn.

The news follows a government announcement that all hens, turkeys and other captive birds in Britain are to be kept indoors from December 14 to prevent the spread of bird flu.

In a joint statement, the chief vets for England, Scotland and Wales said "swift action" was needed.

The statement said: "We have taken swift action to limit the spread of the disease and are now planning to introduce a legal requirement for all poultry and captive bird keepers to keep their birds housed or otherwise separate from wild birds.

"Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from 14 December onwards you will be legally required to keep your birds indoors, or take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds.

"We have not taken this decision lightly, but it is the best way to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease."

The disease can spread to poultry and other captive species when wild birds migrate from mainland Europe during winter, Defra added.