Cases of the Schmallenberg virus have been reported in Devon for the first time.

This week the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) said two lambs had been born with the condition, which is thought to be spread by midges and mosquitos. The exact location of the affected farm has been withheld.

A Defra spokesman told this newspaper the secrecy measure was being taken in the hope that landowners would continue to report further cases should they occur.

To date the condition has been identified on 121 British farms. Eight of the cases were in cattle and 113 in sheep.

The Devon cases coincided with the first to be reported in Dorset, Cambridgeshire and Somerset.

The first outbreaks outside Asia, Africa and Australia occurred in northern Europe last August when adult cattle developed fevers, suffered reduced milk yields, loss of appetite, poor body condition and diarrhoea.