:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to the Look East late news.
:00:00. > :00:07.On the programme tonight: The cull of thousands of birds gets under way
:00:08. > :00:10.at a farm in Suffolk after the discovery of bird flu.
:00:11. > :00:13.The prefab houses being built in Essex to tackle a growing
:00:14. > :00:18.And the latest Bronze Age discovery on our coast,
:00:19. > :00:34.A cull of thousands of chickens got underway in Suffolk today,
:00:35. > :00:38.The outbreak, at a farm in Redgrave near Diss, is the first
:00:39. > :00:42.Tonight, a lorry took thousands of dead birds away
:00:43. > :00:45.from the breeding unit, which is run by Banham Poultry.
:00:46. > :00:53.Restriction zones in place around Bridge Farm in Redgrave today.
:00:54. > :00:57.A clear warning that bird flu is present in the area.
:00:58. > :01:01.Today, the culling of 23,000 birds after a single case of highly
:01:02. > :01:06.pathogenic H5N8 was confirmed at the site on Sunday evening.
:01:07. > :01:12.The farm is used for breeding birds and not producing meat.
:01:13. > :01:14.A ten-kilometre temporary control zone is in place
:01:15. > :01:17.for poultry farmers, meaning all birds
:01:18. > :01:23.It's the second restriction to be put in place since December,
:01:24. > :01:26.after bird flu cases were discovered first in Europe and
:01:27. > :01:31.Daniel Brown is an egg producer near Mildenhall.
:01:32. > :01:34.He's 23 miles from the infected site.
:01:35. > :01:36.He has 44,000 birds, normally allowed to roam freely outside,
:01:37. > :01:39.now being kept inside to reduce the risk of infection.
:01:40. > :01:52.The Ministry vets would come in, they would assess the birds
:01:53. > :01:55.and if you're found to have it, they basically shut you down.
:01:56. > :02:00.You can't even leave work to go home without getting a licence.
:02:01. > :02:04.Everyone has to be checked out and all the birds have to be culled
:02:05. > :02:11.Clean down costs can run at anything about ?10 per bird place.
:02:12. > :02:17.Last night it was confirmed this case of bird flu is the same as that
:02:18. > :02:20.found in wild birds and farmed poultry in other
:02:21. > :02:25.Four chicken sheds are in the process of being emptied
:02:26. > :02:30.No birds can be housed here for the next 30 days.
:02:31. > :02:33.Banham Group Ltd manages this breeding site.
:02:34. > :02:37.It's released a statement today, to confirm that a flock of birds
:02:38. > :02:40.are being culled on this site in accordance with EU law.
:02:41. > :02:44.It also confirms there have been no other cases of bird flu in the area.
:02:45. > :02:48.We understand the culling process could take up to two days
:02:49. > :02:50.to complete and teams will be back on this site first
:02:51. > :03:00.Low-cost houses that measure just four metres by eight metres will be
:03:01. > :03:03.put up in Chelmsford for people on the waiting list who might
:03:04. > :03:07.They're a modern version of the old-fashioned prefab -
:03:08. > :03:10.and the City Council says the rents will be kept low.
:03:11. > :03:18.Chelmsford City Council is showing off this eco-modular home
:03:19. > :03:22.in the hope that it might solve their very own housing crisis.
:03:23. > :03:25.The interesting thing about this unit is that it was assembled
:03:26. > :03:33.What we've got is a separate bedroom, living area,
:03:34. > :03:36.and through here, we've got a shower room, a bathroom.
:03:37. > :03:42.In the kitchen, the fridge, washing machine already plumbed in,
:03:43. > :03:48.Assembled on-site in half a day, effectively it's good to go.
:03:49. > :03:51.By the spring, this parking lot will be one of two council sites
:03:52. > :03:55.where the first 18 prefab homes will be assembled.
:03:56. > :03:59.The people on the waiting list and in need of immediate
:04:00. > :04:04.accommodation are people that will have become homeless
:04:05. > :04:07.from their present accommodation for a variety of reasons,
:04:08. > :04:11.so it is the start of a slightly different approach that
:04:12. > :04:14.we've had in the past, and I believe many other councils
:04:15. > :04:22.We would build more of these if we can, yes.
:04:23. > :04:25.Construction methods have come a long way since prefab first
:04:26. > :04:27.appeared in the urban landscape, generated by a housing crisis
:04:28. > :04:33.Many factories say the modules can be built for half
:04:34. > :04:37.the cost of a brick house, and are more energy efficient.
:04:38. > :04:40.In the east, we need 32,000 new homes a year, but we're
:04:41. > :04:45.Modular housing could be part of the solution,
:04:46. > :04:49.but we need Government to step in and provide much more land
:04:50. > :04:55.Otherwise modular housing really is trying to solve the blockage
:04:56. > :05:04.Between them, neighbours Brian and Sandler have clocked up 94 years
:05:05. > :05:07.This is very much a quick fix for the local council,
:05:08. > :05:09.but perhaps the wider housing industry will take
:05:10. > :05:13.With so many young people unable to get onto the property ladder,
:05:14. > :05:15.these prefab homes could be a game changer.
:05:16. > :05:17.The charity Chess runs a night shelter in Chelmsford.
:05:18. > :05:19.This evening, Barbara Buxton, one of the managers,
:05:20. > :05:22.told me about the growing demand for accommodation.
:05:23. > :05:31.We have seven beds here and 22 beds elsewhere, so we have 29
:05:32. > :05:36.At the moment we are running a winter project which is doing
:05:37. > :05:42.That's being utilised pretty much all the time now.
:05:43. > :05:47.We still can't actually cope with all the capacity that's out there.
:05:48. > :05:50.The figures in Chelmsford show a huge increase
:05:51. > :05:53.in the numbers of people needing emergency accommodation.
:05:54. > :05:56.What kinds of reasons will people find suddenly themselves homeless?
:05:57. > :06:00.A few months ago I had a gentleman that walked up on a Friday evening.
:06:01. > :06:07.He had a job, had accommodation, everything was fine
:06:08. > :06:12.He came home one day, he found his partner with someone
:06:13. > :06:16.else, and in that one fell swoop he lost his accommodation.
:06:17. > :06:20.He worked for her parents in the hotel business.
:06:21. > :06:23.So he lost his accommodation, he lost his partner,
:06:24. > :06:27.he lost his job, literally in the space of a few minutes.
:06:28. > :06:29.He turned up here with nowhere to go.
:06:30. > :06:32.He didn't have any friends locally, because he's from another
:06:33. > :06:37.We were full at the time, so it was then trying to find him
:06:38. > :06:44.hotel accommodation for the evening, which we struggled,
:06:45. > :06:48.So it's things like that, where literally one minute
:06:49. > :06:50.everything was fine in his life, the next minute,
:06:51. > :06:57.Do you think these prefab houses will help and make a difference?
:06:58. > :07:03.There's not that many, as such, compared with the problem.
:07:04. > :07:06.So the more that could be done would be better,
:07:07. > :07:09.but obviously, anything, any step in the right
:07:10. > :07:18.Firefighters from across Suffolk have been tackling a blaze
:07:19. > :07:20.at a country house near Saxmundham this evening.The fire,
:07:21. > :07:23.in Main Street in Kelsale, broke out just before 6pm.
:07:24. > :07:27.Fire crews from around 16 locations were called to the scene.
:07:28. > :07:29.No one was believed to be in the building
:07:30. > :07:36.Councillors have welcomed plans for a new ?70 million rail depot
:07:37. > :07:40.Rail operator Greater Anglia is planning the development,
:07:41. > :07:44.to service and repair its new fleet of trains on former
:07:45. > :07:49.Essex County Council said it will create around 30 jobs,
:07:50. > :07:54.with wider benefits for the local economy.
:07:55. > :07:56.In 1998, one of the biggest Bronze Age discoveries we've ever
:07:57. > :08:01.It was called Seahenge - a huge timber circle,
:08:02. > :08:04.which had been buried in the sand for hundreds of years.
:08:05. > :08:07.Now more Bronze Age timbers have been found on the Essex coast,
:08:08. > :08:14.and experts think they could be part of an ancient causeway.
:08:15. > :08:18.On Mersea Island, a race against time and tide.
:08:19. > :08:21.Thank you so, so much for coming and for being here very early.
:08:22. > :08:23.Members of the Coastal and Intertidal Zone
:08:24. > :08:26.Archaeological Network - Citizan for short -
:08:27. > :08:29.are battling to capture a piece of history before it goes for good.
:08:30. > :08:33.The site is only accessible when the tide is out.
:08:34. > :08:36.They believe this could have been home to an ancient settlement,
:08:37. > :08:39.but they know it won't be long before the sea that
:08:40. > :08:45.Their discoveries featured on today's Countryfile Winter Diary.
:08:46. > :08:55.Look at that, a massive series of oak beams.
:08:56. > :08:57.It might look to the untrained eye like just another
:08:58. > :09:00.piece of muddy old wood, but to the archaeologist,
:09:01. > :09:03.it's a vital clue - left behind by those who lived
:09:04. > :09:08.Normally, archaeologists would slowly excavate
:09:09. > :09:10.the site inch by inch, to uncover its secrets,
:09:11. > :09:13.but with the tide coming back in no such luxury.
:09:14. > :09:18.They are hoping to preserve the landscape in virtual form,
:09:19. > :09:22.creating a 3D model of the whole site.
:09:23. > :09:25.We found the remains of - and I mean the remains,
:09:26. > :09:28.fragmentary remains - of a deliberately constructed raft.
:09:29. > :09:35.Maybe this is a shepherd's hut, maybe it's a seaside villa.
:09:36. > :09:38.Many questions still have to be answered about this now submerged
:09:39. > :09:43.historic landscape and the people who used to call this
:09:44. > :09:47.Without the efforts of the team from Citizan, their story might
:09:48. > :10:09.Good evening. The mild weather will continue this week and into the
:10:10. > :10:12.weekend and beyond. Tonight, the earlier rain has cleared. We are
:10:13. > :10:17.left with clear skies. It will be chillier tonight than last night.
:10:18. > :10:23.Some of us getting loads of around five Celsius. Tomorrow, we start
:10:24. > :10:26.with the fog and mist patch around. That should clear. High pressure
:10:27. > :10:30.building in from the south. The second picture for the next couple
:10:31. > :10:34.of the days. Once the mist on fog has cleared, lots of sunshine
:10:35. > :10:38.through the morning. Temperatures around 10-11 for many of us. It
:10:39. > :10:42.should feel quite pleasant. As we get into the afternoon, a little bit
:10:43. > :10:46.more cloud coming in from the West, particularly affecting Northern
:10:47. > :10:50.parts of Norfolk. There could be the odd spot of rain. For most of us,
:10:51. > :10:55.it's expected to stay dry. Here's the outlook. For Friday, looking
:10:56. > :11:00.fine and dry with some long spells of sunshine. Still staying milder
:11:01. > :11:02.and a slightly cooler night follows. The weekend looks like a dry
:11:03. > :11:05.the weekend. Wouldn't promise you two dry days but you never know,
:11:06. > :11:09.here is Nick with the national picture.
:11:10. > :11:13.Hello. We put that cold weekend well behind us now. Temperatures edging
:11:14. > :11:16.upwards and our weather watchers are seeing plenty of signs of spring.
:11:17. > :11:21.Spending more time looking down than looking up at the skies, we see
:11:22. > :11:25.these early blooms. They are set to continue as we are set to stay mild
:11:26. > :11:27.for several more days to come. Average daytime temperature this
:11:28. > :11:30.time of year around eight, but getting into double figures all the
:11:31. > :11:38.way through the weekend. The start of next week into the mid-teens
:11:39. > :11:42.potentially, very mild indeed. It was 14 in Lincolnshire today. A lot
:11:43. > :11:45.of heavy rain to end the day. That clearing from Yorkshire to the North
:11:46. > :11:50.Sea. A few showers in the west and the odd one may continue into the
:11:51. > :11:55.night. Many becoming dry, just this rain still into western parts of
:11:56. > :11:56.Scotland gusty winds. Lighter winds to