Noisy cockerel owner is threatened with an ASBO as council takes action over its ‘unreasonable and persistent’ crowing

A woman whose cock is loud enough to be given an ASBO could risk having her pet seized by the police, despite hundreds of people gathering to support her.

Sue Farthing, 58, said she was threatened with a Community Protection Notice by South Norfolk Council because of the crowing of her rooster, Colonel.

He is currently locked up in his chicken coop overnight, and Mrs Farthing has even darkened the windows to prevent his shenanigans.

The artist Mrs Farthing does not know who the complaining neighbor is.

However, the 58-year-old Colonel described the incident as ‘madness’, claiming that the Colonel only crows once in the morning and twice during the day.

The Community Protection Notice under the Anti-Social Behavior Crime and Policing Act gives Ms Farthing a week to reduce the noise; otherwise the police may arrest the Colonel.

The artist said the incident showed how councils were ‘intent’ on destroying rural life to appease city people.

It’s pretty sad. “I am a law-abiding citizen and it is crazy that an ASBO is being threatened against me and the Colonel,” he said.

Colonel issues rooster an ASBO that could be seized by police after noise complaints

‘This is disproportionate to the situation.

‘This sets a bad precedent for the future of the countryside. The council seems determined to destroy this way of life.

‘The colonel and my chickens are my pets. This is not for farming purposes or financial gain.’

Ms Farthing moved to Aldeby, a small Norfolk village with a population of just 400, three years ago.

He said the landscape was alive with muntjacs, owls and cows.

The civic area is less than three miles from the home of ITV star Janet Street Porter.

Ms Farthing started keeping one of the chickens as a pet after saving one of them 18 months ago; but he didn’t realize the Colonel was a rooster until a few months later when he started crowing.

She decided to hire him to keep his seven chickens in order and said he was a ‘lovely character’.

Mrs Farthing started keeping chickens as pets 18 months ago. He said the Colonel was a ‘likable character’

More than 900 people have signed a petition calling on the council to ‘stop the disproportionate pursuit of the Colonel in the name of common sense’.

The 58-year-old said: ‘I thought he was a good addition to the group and vital to protect them from predators such as foxes.

‘She produced some young chicks and I let them hatch.

‘I had a few other cockerels and decided to rehome them because they were crowing so much.

‘In August last year, a council officer knocked on my door saying there was a complaint against the Colonel and that his noise was affecting the complainant’s mental health.’

Following a complaint from an anonymous neighbour, South Norfolk Council conducted an investigation into the Colonel’s shenanigans.

Mrs Farthing was told that the Colonel had to remain quiet until 8am, so he proceeded to lock her in the coop for the night and darkened the windows.

He said: ‘I’ve found this really improves the situation but cockerels have a natural body clock so they can crow before the sun rises.

‘It only takes a few minutes and we may hear it once or twice later in the day.

‘I did the best I could with the limited resources and funds I had at the time.’

But last week, after further complaints, he received another letter threatening him with a Community Protection Order and saying the police could capture and destroy the Colonel.

Ms Farthing is currently working on a ‘bunker’ to reduce the noise the Colonel makes, but said she would be calling on the council to be given more time to soundproof the coop.

Hundreds of residents rallied behind Ms Farthing, calling on the council to halt its action against the Colonel.

More than 900 people in Aldeby, Norfolk, have signed a petition calling for the ‘disproportionate pursuit of a single rooster’ to be stopped in the name of ‘common sense’.

Most of the signatories are local people who are keen to preserve the ‘rural’ identity of the area.

petitionThe notice, launched six days ago, reads: ‘We, the undersigned residents of Aldeby and the wider South Norfolk area, call on: [the] The council has voted to halt disproportionate investigation and enforcement action against a resident in the rural hamlet of Aldeby after a single rooster rarely crowed.

‘Aldeby is a small, peaceful rural village where natural sounds – cows mooing, owls hooting, muntjac deer hooting, birds hooting and the occasional call of farm animals – are an accepted and loved part of daily life.

‘In such an environment, the rare and brief crowing of a rooster (recently reported to occur only twice a day and on some mornings not at all) cannot reasonably be classed as a statutory nuisance requiring formal council intervention, especially when measured against the daily soundscape of rural Norfolk.

‘Despite this context, a Community Protection Officer visited the property and hand-delivered official correspondence;

‘Council resources, including staff time and taxpayer funding, have been allocated to monitor and follow up on this individual complaint;

‘Local residents overwhelmingly support the rooster’s keeper and view the issue as an absurd abuse of limited council capacity.

‘Meanwhile the council continues to face widespread public criticism for delays and failures to address much more pressing community priorities, including timely repairs of potholes on local roads, reliable rubbish collection, effective maintenance of drainage systems to prevent flooding [and] and other essential services that directly impact residents’ safety and quality of life.

‘We believe council resources should be focused on these important issues rather than chasing the small, infrequent rural noises inherent in rural life.’

A South Norfolk Council spokesman previously said: ‘We met with the rooster’s owner early on and provided advice on how we could reduce the impact of noise from crowing on surrounding neighbours.

‘Unfortunately, further complaints were received and evidence was given to show that chirping could be heard very clearly at dawn in the complainant’s home.’

The council has been contacted for further comment.