More than 1,000 partridges died on Tuesday morning after an accidental fire at a farm on the county border.

Fire crews were called to a property in Beccles shortly after 4.50am on Tuesday, June 2 after reports of an accidental fire.

At a property on Cucumber Lane, in Beccles, a pheasant shed was found burning near gas canisters, in a blaze which the emergency services tackled for more than an hour.

“A five by 10 metre shed was completely destroyed in the fire. The shed was housing partridges, with 1,200 of the birds deceased,” a spokesman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said.

The service said despite their use of hose reels: “the building was completely destroyed in the fire.”

They added gas canisters were being housed near to the pheasant shed, which crews moved while monitoring the blaze to ensure it did not spread before leaving the scene at 5.55am.