A NOISY cockerel is ruffling a few feathers in a tiny village after a neighbour complained about the noise of its crowing.

The complaint against Coco the cockerel prompted a letter to be sent to owner Alison Oliver by Worcestershire Regulatory Services – which acts on behalf of local councils – giving her the opportunity to minimise his dawn chorus.

Advice in the letter includes preventing the bird from seeing the dawn.

But Mrs Oliver says birds have been on the land at Coles Green, Leigh Sinton, near Worcester, for four decades without any complaint.

“There have been chickens on the same site on and off for nearly 40 years and I am at a loss as to understand why someone has suddenly decided to put in an offical complaint to WRS,” she said.

“I have been hatching with schools and Scout groups for years, giving free demonstrations to the children on the hatching and aftercare for these animals. Without a cockerel this would obviously not be possible.”

The letter, from a ‘technical officer’ at WRS, says the complainer has been asked to tell the service of “any further incidents of the alleged nuisance”. Mrs Oliver said: “I have had no further correspondence from Worcester Regulatory Services. I think they are obliged to respond to all complaints regardless of how ludicrous.”
As well as preventing Coco witnessing

the dawn by keeping him inside until after 7am, WRS suggested a shelf be installed in the henhouse to allow Coco to walk around at his normal height but which restricts his ability to stretch his neck and crow – but Mrs Oliver said she did not “consider that fair to the animal”.


She said: “What a shame someone has taken offence to an animal making its natural noise. Part of the charms of living in the countryside is being able to keep livestock as pets or for farming, and many other neighbours in this hamlet have pigs, sheep, cows, horses and poultry including cockerels. As far as I am aware no one else has received a complaint.”


The Environment Protection Act makes it an offence to cause a noise nuisance. However, there is no set level of noise allowed, the main criteria being that of reasonableness.


WRS said it would not investigate the matter if it had no further complaints.