Pensioner's cockerel subjected neighbours to 'torture'

A pensioner has been hauled into court after his noisy pet cockerel subjected neighbours in their quiet cul de sac to 'torture' by waking them up as early as 3am.

Harold Brown's 'nuisance' bird was recorded crowing once a minute for an hour and a half by environmental health officials after residents complained of the continual 'cock a doodle do' sound coming from his garden.

The 80-year-old claimed in court that the noise was more of a 'croak' than a traditional cockerel's crow.

But six of his neighbours from the residential enclave on the edge of Hampshire’s New Forest appeared in court to argue otherwise. 

They told Southampton Magistrates Court that they have had to avoid parts of their house to get away from the 'discernible' and 'significant' squawking which would occur almost every morning.

Mr Brown, who represented himself during the proceedings, disputed the evidence and said there was a 'conspiracy' from both residents and the New Forest District Council (NFDC) against him.

Now, the pensioner has been handed a £200 fine after a district judge found him guilty of failing to comply with an abatement notice to keep the noise down.

Opening the case, prosecutor Syan Ventom said the 'nuisance' occurred at Mr Brown's home address in Calmore, Hampshire. 

It was heard that in October 2022, NFDC received complaints from a number of 'different sources' who alleged the cockerel kept by Mr Brown was 'crowing regularly'.

The prosecutor said the council felt this 'amounted to a statutory nuisance' and served an abatement notice in December 2022.

It was heard Mr Brown did not abide by this notice but soon after, his pet cockerel died, which allowed for a 'brief period of respite for neighbours', the prosecutor said.

However, Mr Ventom said that soon afterwards, Mr Brown obtained another cockerel and 'the nuisance reoccurred'.

The court heard evidence from two Environmental Health officers who visited Mr Brown's address in August of last year.

They recorded hearing the cockerel crow some 90 times in an hour and a half period.

Environmental health officer Arran Harmer said he served the abatement notice to Mr Brown, who told him the cockerel was kept in a coop until 7am and wore a restrictive collar.

He said when the first cockerel died, the complaints stopped for a short while, until Mr Brown bought the second bird.

Six neighbours of Mr Brown, who all live on the same cul-de-sac where the average house price is £330,000, appeared in court to give evidence against him. 

Barbara Cron said she is repeatedly woken by the noisy bird who 'disrupts' her sleep 'constantly'.

'I often suffer migraine attacks and often if you're suffering migraine attacks, and you're listening to a cockerel crowing, it's just a form of torture,' she said.

Neighbour Sharon Lucas also reported hearing a 'continuous cock a doodle doo' in the mornings.

Describing the impact of the bird, she said: 'It wakes us up early in the morning then you're tired because you've been woken early.

'I work from home occasionally, sometimes I have had to leave the house when it's been continually cockereling. It's just a constant nuisance.'

Claire Palmer said the bird will 'crow intermittently but regularly' in the morning 'through to later parts of the day'.

Describing the impact the bird has had on her, Ms Palmer said she has to 'avoid' the south side of her house to escape the noise.

Linda Barham said the cockerel squawks 'on and off all day long' and is a 'constant nuisance throughout the day'.

Ms Barham said that as recently as Monday morning, she heard the cockerel start crowing at 4:45am - and said the noise can start as early as 3am.

Pauline Grinham also lives on the same road as Mr Brown and his cockerel.

She said her daughter works full time and has had to go to the doctors to 'get help' for sleep after being repeatedly woken by the bird.

Mr Brown pleaded not guilty to one count of failing to comply with abatement notice.

In his submissions, he told the court there is a 'conspiracy' from the local authority against him.

He refused to give evidence and while cross examining witnesses, he alleged that the first bird was 'killed' by the council.

On the noise allegations, he said: 'It doesn't cock a doodle do, it croaks.'

Prosecutor Mr Ventom told District Judge Timothy Pattinson that the case cost the local council an 'eye watering' £5,500 to bring to court.

Judge Pattinson found Mr Brown - who stormed out of court whilst hearing his verdict - guilty of the charge.

Sentencing him, he said: 'The offence was failure to comply with the notice without reasonable excuse.

'The witnesses described disruption of sleep, constant noise, being woken every morning, medical help being required, restriction on the use of parts of the house.

'There was no question of the source of the nuisance, which was Mr Brown's cockerel.'

Referring to the evidence from Environmental Health, the judge said: 'They described, and again, I summarise, significant noise, very discernible, unreasonable interference capable of disrupting sleep.

'Mr Brown decided not to give evidence and he's not even bothered to stay and hear any reasoning.

'We can only assume that he accepts everything that the prosecution witnesses said, otherwise he would have gone into the witness box and told me where they had given inaccurate evidence.'

The judge refers to Mr Brown's 'conspiracy theories' surrounding the case, and said he finds 'no evidence of corruption or conspiracy'.

In addition to the fine he was ordered to pay £300 in legal costs and an £80 surcharge.