Dead chickens found in farm raid

Police and immigration officers found hundreds of dead or dying chickens when they raided a farm in County Durham.

They carried out the raid in Cockfield on Tuesday morning after a warrant was issued by local magistrates.

A vet and RSPCA and trading standards officers were called in following the discovery at the chicken farm and packaging plant.

A Durham Police spokesman said they were "horrified" to find more than 2,000 dead, dying and diseased birds in three sheds at the west Durham farm.

Many of the birds were in an advanced state of neglect and others were dead. It is expected many of the birds will now have to be destroyed.

Immigration Act

Police seized a two-year-old E-class Mercedes which was believed to have been stolen from Manchester a year ago.

Two men and a woman, all in their 20s, were detained under the Immigration Act and questioned in Bishop Auckland.

One of the men, an Iraqi national, who police discovered had failed in an asylum application, was later released.

A Durham Police spokesman said they were "powerless" to continue to hold him.

Another man, a Pakistani national, is still being detained and is expected to be deported.

A woman, of Russian origin, was arrested on suspicion of theft, and was also expected to be deported.