Another Cock Tale

Another rooster sets feathers flying

Deep in the tranquil Dorset countryside, the calm of what Thomas Hardy called the Vale of the Little Dairies has been shattered by a bitter feud pitting neighbour against rural neighbour.

The source of the conflict? A five-year-old Black Rock cockerel whose dawn crowing has led to complaints to the local council and an investigation into allegations of noise disturbance.

On one side stands its owner Brian Martin and his supporters in the market town of Sturminster Newton, for whom the cock's early morning alarm call is part of the natural order of things. On the other are those who say they have been driven to distraction by his shrill cry.

"It's a blinking nuisance," said Stephen Chubb, who claims his sleep is regularly disturbed by James, as the bird has come to be known. "Something needs to be done about it. There are plenty of people round here who feel the same way."

The complaints have led to North Dorset District Council installing £5,000 worth of noise measuring equipment in the home of one resident to assess the impact of the cockerel's crowing on their sleep.

Whether the decibels is judged to be enough to be causing a disturbance to residents is now the subject of the council's investigation. If so, Mr Martin, 55, will receive a noise abatement order instructing him to get rid of the cause of the sound. James could be destined for the pot.

Mr Martin, a market trader, said: "Round here we're a farming community, so why on earth would someone want to complain about the noise a cockerel makes?"

Kerry Pitt-Kerby, from North Dorset District Council, said: "It may sound bureaucratic, but we have a duty to investigate any complaint of this kind." …..and of course it finds work for them to do!!!!