Butchers and pig farmers in the east reach crisis point with labour shortage

• Watch Raveena Ghattaura's report here

Butchers in the East say they're exhausted trying to process the backlog of pigs from farmers, and they're not sure how they'll cope if more labour isn't brought in from overseas.

Some of the region's pig farmers are calling for a temporary visa scheme to bring more butchers into the UK so their animals can go to slaughter.

Matthew Hellet runs a small butcher and slaughter house in Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire and says he simply can't get the staff.

He's now left with no choice but to turn customers away.

Simon Watchorn has been a pig farmer for 27 years.

He says he's had enough and can no longer carry on as the labour shortage continues to cripple the industry.

The situation has now reached crisis point.

Simon's farm in Bungay in Suffolk is already packed with more than 7,000 pigs. If the situation gets worse, Simon says he may have to destroy his healthy livestock in a matter of weeks.

120,000 pigs across the UK face being killed as farmers are quickly running out of space. A number that's increasing by 15,000 every week.

The National Pig Association said some abattoirs were running 25% below usual capacity, and that the industry is in a perilous position- with some farmers being forced to kill their own pigs.