Rowdy rooster set feathers flying

A council has installed £5,500 worth of microphones near a rooster's coop in Dorset following complaints that it is crowing too loudly.

By Patrick Sawer
Published: 9:00PM BST 22 Aug 2009

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.

The Sunday Telegraph decided to see for itself what the fuss was about and, armed with a noise metre, paid a visit to the coop which James shares with nine hens on Mr Martin's allotment on the edge of the town.

At 5am, as dawn crept over the hills overlooking Sturminster Newton, James let forth his first cry of the day, from still inside his coop. His crowning registered a respectable 69 decibels on the sound meter, roughly the volume of a vacuum cleaner.

However, when the measurements were taken from outside the nearest house, 100 metres away, the level fell to 48 decibels - equivalent to that of a rain shower or a normal conversation.

Obviously keen to make more of an impression on the new day, James sauntered out of his coop and gave it his best shot.

This time his cry hit just under the 90 decibel mark - enough to match a lawn mower or a passing truck. But again, when measured from the nearest house the volume fell by around 20 decibels.

Whether that 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."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/6072263/Rowdy-rooster-set-feathers-flying.html