A member of the public has uncovered alleged illegal activity at Willoughbridge Lodge Farm, Market Drayton, with multiple dead calves being buried on site instead of being collected, as required by law. The farm is also the site of the controversial application for an intensive poultry unit.

Campaigners are urging South Gloucestershire Council to reject a planning application that would significantly expand Pilgrim’s UK’s Westerleigh abattoir, increasing slaughter capacity from 19,000 to 25,000 pigs per week, an additional 6,000 animals, bringing the total number of factory‑farmed pigs killed on site to 1.3 million per year.

Plans have been submitted to double the size of an intensive pig unit near Matfen, increasing the number of pigs confined indoors from 950 to 1,900 at any one time. Local residents and campaigners warn the expansion would intensify existing concerns about odour, traffic and environmental impact in the rural community.