Visitors no longer allowed to land on Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast

Last year, while the islands were off limits to wildlife enthusiasts, rangers contributed to national monitoring and research into the impacts of bird flu on the breeding populations and removed over 6,000 carcasses of birds killed by the virus.

Seabirds including the guillemot and kittiwake were impacted the most, with 3,542 and 818 dying due to the disease. These numbers are considered just the tip of the iceberg as many dead birds in the densely packed cliff colonies will have fallen into the sea.

With the virus persisting on the broader environment and impacting wild birds throughout the winter across the UK, the conservation charity believes it is prudent to restrict access to visitors seeking to land on Inner Farne and Staple islands.

However, sail-around tours of the islands offered by local boat operators will continue to run.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories; remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.