Fears over bird flu spread to UK

The spread of bird flu, particularly the possibility of it reaching the UK, features in most of the Sunday papers.

The Sunday Telegraph carries an image of two people wearing oxygen masks putting a dead goose into a sack.

The paper says the disease has swept across continental Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia and will probably reach Britain within days.

The Sunday Times agrees, saying ministers are under pressure to order poultry flocks to be brought indoors.

Dog snatchers

Animal stories of a different kind are picked up by several of the papers.

The Sunday Express says pedigree dogs are being snatched off the streets of Britain to fuel a multi-million pound puppy breeding racket.

It claims the dogs are shipped to Ireland where they are held in barbaric conditions for breeding purposes.

Meanwhile, the Times claims that a man leading an animal rights campaign against a medical research laboratory at Oxford lives in Florida.

Secure cars

Politicians come in for some flak in several of the other papers.

The Mail on Sunday says that every high ranking government official is to get a Jaguar car - because they would be most secure in the event of a terror attack.

Following the shooting of Pc Rachael Bown, the Telegraph vents its spleen on the Firearms Act which banned handguns in the wake of the Dunblane massacre.

The paper says it was a law passed for wrong reasons which has done nothing to halt the rise in gun crime.

Celebrity passion

Sunday's tabloids carry a variety of stories involving celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Sunday Mirror reports that film star Cameron Diaz narrowly cheated death when a bird shattered the windscreen of her chauffeur driven car.

The Daily Star on Sunday says Big Brother lovebirds Chantelle and Preston could be torn apart by rival passions.

Meanwhile the Observer reports Britain is suffering a baby "shortage" as work pressures force women to shelves plans for a family, according to research urging an £11bn campaign to boost parenthood.