Deer poaching doubles in county

Deer poaching in Norfolk has doubled over the last two years, the county's branch of rural crime group Farmwatch has revealed.

Police have warned that more and more deer meat is being offered for sale on the black market by gangs involved in organised crime.

Tony Bone, of Farmwatch, said: "We used to get deer poaching on odd weekends but now it seems to be every weekend."

One Norfolk gamekeeper told BBC News he had seen an 80% increase in poaching.

"Since I've been here it used to be a few times a year, now it's a few times a month it's happening," said the gamekeeper who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

Alan Roberts, the Norfolk representative of the police's wildlife crime unit said: "Stopping poaching is now a national priority."

Mr Roberts added: "There's a serious health issue. They certainly won't be taking proper clinical steps to clean it out properly. There's no health checks on that; it's going through the back door."