Cockerel owner avoids action in crowing row

The threat of action against a cockerel and its owner following a noise complaint has been dropped by a council.

Sue Farthing, 58, lives in Aldeby, Norfolk, just across the River Waveney from Suffolk, where she keeps a number of chickens and a cockerel called Colonel.

South Norfolk District Council threatened Farthing with a community protection order after investigating anonymous complaints about the bird's crowing.

Farthing, who said she was "grateful" the council had not imposed the order, has now agreed to keep the cockerel in the dark until 08:00 every morning.

Farthing began rescuing chickens after one appeared in her front garden 18 months ago.

In August, she received a letter from the council that said one of her neighbours had complained the noise from her cockerel called Colonel was affecting their mental health.

She was told to keep the bird quiet until 08:00 or face further action.

"I was shocked. Obviously it's a very, very rural community and I was surprised the neighbour didn't come to me directly," Farthing said earlier this month.

She told the BBC she would have liked the council to offer some sort of mediation between herself and the complainant before issuing the letter.

Farthing said two council officers visited her on Friday.

She said she offered to convert her log bunker for the bird, but was told this would not be necessary and the steps she had taken to keep Colonel quiet were enough.

This included blacking out the coop and making sure the birds were not let out until after 08:00.

She said: "For whatever reason, the complaint either has been dropped, I don't know whether it was the neighbour that's decided to drop it, or the council have decided themselves that they're going to not take any further action."

Farthing believed a petition in support of Colonel, which was now closed, was behind the council's decision.

"It was very stressful, very stressful. I'm very grateful to the whole community," said Farthing.

"I think people were incensed by it, to be honest."

South Norfolk District Council said it was "pleased that the case has been resolved informally".

It said it had a legal duty to investigate noise disturbance from all sources including cockerels and advised people affected by cockerel crowing to approach the owner in the first instance.

Owners should keep birds in coops that were kept dark until after 08:00 to prevent them crowing as the sun rises, it added.

However Farthing said the birds have an internal clock and could still crow in a darkened coop.

A neighbour close by also has a cockerel and they like to crow to each other, said Farthing.

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