A controversial halal slaughterhouse that was secretly filmed allegedly mistreating lambs has gone into administration.

Bowood Farms, in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, hit the headlines when animals rights group Animal Aid released hidden camera footage allegedly showing animals being abused.

As a result, a Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigation was launched into the footage.

A statement released today said the company had ceased trading and all the staff had been made redundant.

A spokesman for Leonard Curtis, an insolvency specialist, said: "K G Murphy, P Deyes and J M Titley of Leonard Curtis were appointed as joint administrators of Bowood Farms Limited t/a Bowood Yorkshire Lamb on 5th August 2015.

"Prior to our appointment, the company had ceased to trade and all employees have subsequently been made redundant.

"The Joint Administrators are actively seeking interested parties for the property and assets."

The footage apparently showed a worker hacking and sawing at animals' throats and a sheep being kicked in the face and head, lifted by their ears, fleeces or legs, and hurled into solid structures.

It also showed a worker standing on the neck of a conscious sheep and bouncing up and down and staff erupting into laughter over a sheep bleeding to death with spectacles drawn around its eyes in green paint.

Andrew Tyler, from Animal Aid, said: "'The lesson of Bowood, and the secret filming that Animal Aid has been undertaking since 2009, is that CCTV, with proper independent monitoring of footage, is an absolute priority for all UK slaughterhouses.

"The regulatory and political authorities have delayed for too long. The comprehensive evidence we have presented makes clear that cameras will have a significantly beneficial effect. There must be no further delay in requiring their mandatory installation."