A Norfolk furniture firm has been hit financially by rebel attacks on container ships in the Red Sea. 

US and UK forces have bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen as the militant force targets commercial vessels with missiles and drones. 

Houthi rebels have been bombarding ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict but this action marks the first retaliatory attack by Western forces. 

Eastern Daily Press: Four RAF Typhoons have been used in the retaliatory attacks Four RAF Typhoons have been used in the retaliatory attacks (Image: PA)

But the impacts are being felt are close to home as Larling, near Thetford, where Warings Furniture is feeling the pinch. 

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Co-owner Rachel Warings told the BBC that the attacks are having a big financial impact on the business because of delays to supplies. 

She said: "It impacts our profits, it impacts our cashflow, our turnover and ultimately inflation because these container prices are going up daily now and that is a real risk on imported products."

Meanwhile, the former British Army chief Lord Dannatt, who lives in Norfolk, gave his assessment on the overnight air strikes.

He said: "The fragility of world chains of supply are being exposed by what's going on in the Red Sea and therefore it does make sense that action is taken to ensure that world trade can continue, commodity prices don't soar up and production and retail can continue as uninterrupted as possible."

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said early on Friday morning: “In recent months, the Houthi militia have carried out a series of dangerous and destabilising attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening UK and other international ships, causing major disruption to a vital trade route and driving up commodity prices.

“Their reckless actions are risking lives at sea and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

“Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week. This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.

“We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.”

“The Royal Navy continues to patrol the Red Sea as part of the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter further Houthi aggression, and we urge them to cease their attacks and take steps to de-escalate.”