UNCONFIRMED cases of bluetongue infection among cattle in Essex are being investigated after new control-and-protect zones came into place at midnight following the announcement that there are now 11 confirmed cases of the disease.

The new zone comprises parts of Essex as well as neighbouring Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambs. It replaces a temporary area brought in on Tuesday after the outbreak started at a farm near Ipswich.

The protection zone also includes London and parts of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedforshire, Buckinghhamshire, Hertforshire, Kent, Berkshire, Surrey and Sussex.

A spokesperson for the National Farmers' Union in East Anglia, Rachel Carrington, said there were "a number" of potential bluetongue cases being investigated including ones in Essex