FAMILIES are panic buying turkeys amid fears an outbreak of bird flu could wipe out Christmas stocks.

A farming couple say their Christmas turkey trade has taken off early this year in an unlikely knock-on effect of the bird flu scare.

Panic buying set in among regulars who order their Christmas birds from Martin and Judith Dryden, at Murton Moor Farm, in east Durham.

The couple are among only two suppliers in the North-East of highly rated Kelly bronze hand-reared free-range turkeys.

Gradually increasing sales in recent years, mostly through word-of-mouth, has led to them rearing 500 of the distinctive breed, originating in the US, this year.

They took them in July as one-day-old hatchlings and will soon begin preparing them for customers to collect in the days before Christmas.

But the order book soared as early as last month when the media was awash with stories of the threat of bird flu reaching these shores after outbreaks in Asia.

Mrs Dryden said: "We were getting calls before I had even put out order forms.

"In some cases, people were ordering two and three for themselves, as well as family and friends.

"While we do not really see bird flu as a threat at the moment, it has helped the sales from a very early date this year.

"We usually reach a peak in early December and the last are booked by the middle of the month."

Mrs Dryden said that although the birds have the run of the farm, rather than being confined to coops, any wild birds are immediately scared off by the large stag birds.

She said: "They are very territorial, so if any wild bird approached, they would soon be chased off before having chance to make any contact.

"As it is, we already preceded the latest Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) regulations by dipping our feet before going in with them, to prevent any risk of contamination."

Mrs Dryden is bracing herself for a busy month preparing the birds for collection on December 23 and 24.

Robert Darling, farm manager of Burtree House Farm in Burtree Road, Darlington, also said the bird flu scare has had a positive effect on this year's orders.

He said: "We have had more inquires than ever and we have had a lot more new customers.

"People are much keener to buy from a farm where they can see for themselves that the birds are healthy."

The farm, which started by selling 150 of the hand-reared Kelly bronze turkeys in 2000, is expecting to sell more than 550 this year