Tests on two dead swans from Preston for bird flu have proved negative, the Department for Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed.

A spokesman for Defra said it was part of routine testing that the department had been carrying out for a number of months.

"In all the tests so far we have not found H5N1 (bird flu virus)," he added.

Monitoring has been stepped up in South Ribble which has a number of parks and nature reserves popular with swans and other birds.

l Poultry keepers have until February 28 to register their birds as part of a scheme to effectively tackle any outbreak of avian flu.

Owners of flocks of 50 or more birds on commercial poultry premises can go online for a registration form at www.defra.gov.uk or call 0800 634 1112.