13,000 chickens have died in a fire at a farm in Essex. All the birds died when an outbuilding at the farm in Felsted caught fire and collapsed in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Fire services were called to the farm just after midnight on Thursday.  It took more than 12 hours for firefighters with five engines to get the blaze under control.

The barn contained birds and egg production equipment, which was completely destroyed.

Police and fire services are investigating the incident, and are treating the blaze as suspicious.

Launching an appeal on Thursday, DI Alan Stevens, of Braintree CID said, “Naturally, the owners are devastated at the loss of a significant part of their business, and at the cruel manner in which their animals died.

“We are working with the fire service to investigate the cause of the blaze and are appealing for anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area at around the time of the fire to contact us.”