Neighbours call fowl play over noisy cockerel

The owner of an unruly cockerel has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 after neighbours complained about its incessant crowing.

Officials at North East Derbyshire Council used specialist monitoring equipment and found the bothersome bird crowed almost 80 times in less than an hour.

Its owner, Derek Bower from New Tupton, near Chesterfield, was initially issued with an abatement notice but was later summoned to appear before Derby magistrates.

The council says the fine remains unpaid.

North East Derbyshire District Council, which made the case public this week following a hearing in December, says its Environmental Health Service received a noise complaint about a cockerel crowing in North Side, New Tupton.

Investigations led to specialised noise monitoring equipment being installed by an Environmental Health Officer to record the frequency and the noise level coming from the residential property.

It showed the frequency of the crowing was "excessive", with the cockerel crowing throughout the day, which significantly impacted on neighbours.

An Environmental Health officer then conducted an on-site inspection and recorded the bird crowing 76 times between 05:53 and 06:43.

The council said it then served an abatement notice on Mr Bower, but he did not engage with the authority so the case was taken to the city's magistrates' court.

Mr Bower failed to attend the hearing on 9 December 2024 and was fined £660 in his absence.

He was also ordered to pay a £924 victim surcharge and £1,623.96 in costs, payable within 28 days.

To date the fine has not been paid and has been referred to the council's legal team for non-payment, the authority said.

A female neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the BBC people living nearby knew all too well about the cockerel.

"A nuisance, a nightmare, early hours of the morning, crowing. And when you want to sleep at that time of the morning you don't need it," she said.

She added the noise from the bird wasn't restricted to the morning.

"Sometimes it's all day. And I don't think it's right," she said.

The BBC has attempted to contact Mr Bower for comment.

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