WARNING GRAPHIC FOOTAGE: Animal welfare campaigners reveal covert footage purporting to show shocking conditions inside Cambridgeshire and Norfolk poultry farms

Pictures and a covert video of the conditions were allegedly taken in two chicken farms that supply M&S in Long Stratton, Norfolk, and at Fen Drayton in Cambridgeshire – by activists connected to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA said it had obtained eyewitness video footage of horrific conditions in sheds at two broiler chicken farms that supply Marks & Spencer, raising serious doubts over the company’s “High Welfare” meat labels.

A PETA spokesperson said: “The video reveals live birds packed among rotting corpses so tightly that they can barely spread a wing – despite Marks & Spencer’s claim that it provides the animals with an enriched environment.

“In addition, stressed birds are seen struggling to stand up, meaning they may have trouble reaching water – a common problem for chickens bred to grow so quickly that they become crippled – despite the company’s claim that the animals have constant access to food and water.”

Last night Marks and Spencer said it was suspending supply from the farms while it investigated.