WORCESTERSHIRE's poultry breeders could have been forgiven for feeling a shiver down the spine when they heard about the bird flu outbreak at Bernard Matthews' Suffolk farm.

This still predominantly agricultural county would be harder hit than most were the deadly H5N1 virus to spread throughout the country.

But it seems our farmers are not too concerned.

Despite the debacle of 2001's foot-and-mouth epidemic - the last agricultural crisis to hit the county - they appear to have confidence in the Government's ability to control the situation.

Most of them are just sitting tight, waiting for the pre-arranged signal to take the special precautionary measures that so far have not proved necessary.

Of course, the difference between bird flu and foot-and-mouth is that the nightmare scenario of a major H5N1 outbreak on British soil has been predicted and prepared for since January 2003, when the first humans fell victim to the virus.

And when the event finally happened at the weekend, the powers-that-be acted quickly and robustly in slaughtering 159,000 birds and offering jabs to poultry workers.

This is not the time to enquire about the conditions on a farm where so many birds were kept in one place - though farmers of free-range birds in this county have been quick to point out the difference between their operations and that of Mr Matthews.

For now, it's enough to be confident that the slaughter has halted H5N1's progress and Worcestershire's poultry remain healthy and virus-free.