Government inspectors today reported on conditions at the Bernard Matthews plant at Holton near Halesworth which was hit by bird flu. Inspectors saw polythene bags containing meat products in uncovered bins, and seagulls were attracted by waste scraps in bins outside.

Government inspectors today reported on conditions at the Bernard Matthews plant at Holton near Halesworth which was hit by bird flu.

Inspectors saw polythene bags containing meat products in uncovered bins, and seagulls were attracted by waste scraps in bins outside, according to an interim Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report.

Earlier today Defra named turkey meat from Hungary as the "most plausible'' cause of the bird flu outbreak.

In its interim report, Defra lists ways the infection could have got into the shed where the birds were infected, including gaps in the shed which would have allowed birds, rats and mice to get in.

Bernard Matthews welcomed the report today, saying it confirmed its conduct had always been legal.

A Food Standards Agency investigation found all food importing and processing activities at the Bernard Matthews plant were in line with EU law.

Investigations into how the H5N1 strain entered the Suffolk plant are continuing.