Worcester

A ROAD in south Worcestershire was closed yesterday after reports that it was awash with blood from slaughtered animals.

The Ministry of Agriculture, the Army and the police closed the B4080 Bredon to Tewkesbury route as a precaution.

A driver had discovered water mixed with blood seeping from sheep carcases at Mitton Lodge and Gellesters farms.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire police said the closure would allow the area to be disinfected.

Army officers and MAFF officials would move the carcases further from the roadside, he added.

Two trenches in Mitton Lodge Farm, Bredon Road, Tewkesbury, have been dug to try to stem the flow of rainwater carrying blood and fluids from the slaughtered 6,000 ewes and lambs.