BIRD flu fears have forced a man who claims to have eaten a Christmas-style turkey dinner every day since 1993 to switch to lamb, he said today.

Despite assurances that the potentially deadly H5N1 strain of the virus is not transmitted through food, Andy Park, aka Mr Christmas, said all poultry is now off his menu.

"Obviously I'm devastated because I love my turkey dinners,'' said the 45-year-old electrician who claims to celebrate Christmas every day.

Mr Park, from Melksham, says he has consumed nearly 4,800 turkeys (one a day) since becoming Mr Christmas in 1993.

"I had intended to continue eating turkey every day but this bird flu outbreak has put a stop to that,'' he said.

"It's frightening. Although they say you can eat infected birds as cooking kills the bug I still don't fancy it.

"From now on it's lamb, beef or pork but it just won't be the same as my traditional turkey dinners.'' Some 159,000 turkeys on the Suffolk farm infected with the highly pathogenic Asian version of bird flu are being slaughtered, giving rise to concerns the outbreak may dent sales of poultry.

But although 164 people have died from H5N1 since January 2003, mostly in Asia and the Middle East, the Health Protection Agency has reassured the public the virus is not transmitted through food.

Industry figures have urged consumers to heed advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which said no infected birds have entered the food chain.