The bluetongue protection zone has now reached Shepway and Dover but areas of land and footpaths in the county remain open.

Defra has declared a control zone covering areas of Shepway, Thanet, Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Maidstone and Swale meaning animals can only be moved within these areas or straight to slaughter.

Trading standards officials have said the Kent countryside is still open for business despite the outbreak of bluetongue disease found on a farm in Boughton Aluph, just outside Ashford.

The protection zone has now been extended across much of England, reaching into North Yorkshire, Cheshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and down to the Isle of Wight.

Bluetongue is an viral disease carried by midges, which is currently untreatable.