A COCKEREL threatened with the chop over his noisy crowing has been saved after the sole complainant was driven out of the village where he lived.

‘Reg’ the rooster was branded a potential ‘noise nuisance’ by his Weymouth and Portland Council after a newcomer to the rural community took issue with the bird’s 5am wake-up call.
Officials warned Simon Grant-Jones, owner of the rare leghorn exchequer specimen, that checks would be made to see if Reg’s crowing was excessive, and action could be taken.
But the threat sparked a village revolt against the unidentified ‘townie’ who complained, starting with a petition that was launched at the local coffee morning. It was signed by 160 people, more than half of the village population, and such was the ill-feeling towards the plaintiff, it was said, that he went into hiding. He and his wife have now moved out of pretty Sutton Poyntz in Dorset after selling their large detached house for £430,000.
As a result, the complaint is no longer valid, and ‘Reg’ has been spared. Mr Grant-Jones, 49, said he was relieved the matter has come to an end.
The blacksmith said: “I was overwhelmed and very grateful by the support for ‘Reg’. Within days of the complaint being made public, there was a coffee morning in the village where one lady said they needed to fight the complaint.
“Straightaway she got 60 signatures on a petition, and ended up with 160, which is over half the village. Never underestimate the power of the coffee morning. Hearing a cockerel crowing in a rural village is part and parcel of living in the country.
“The villagers got quite upset about this one complaint and the threat that ‘Reg’ would have to be removed. I think the guy went into hiding and took to pulling the curtains.
“He has since sold his house and has moved out of the area. I telephoned the Council to tell them this, and was told that there would be no further action against ‘Reg’.”
Mr. Grant-Jones owned ‘Reg’ for nearly two years before he received a complaint in February from the anonymous resident who had recently moved to the village, near Weymouth.
The cockerel’s owner then received a letter from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s enforcement and technical support officer, quoting the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The letter said the cockerel’s crowing at 5am was causing annoyance to local residents, and that the Council had a duty to look into the matter.
A Council worker visited Mr. Grant-Jones’s property to carry out noise checks on the bird, but the matter has now resolved itself since the complainant left.
Mr. Grant-Jones said: “The chap who made the complaint was a bit misguided, and was not familiar with the ways of the country.
“The Council did send somebody out to do some testing, but I think that was to satisfy the complainant.
“I am glad it is all over now. ‘Reg’ has gone from strength to strength, and is now the proud father of 30 chickens — and a bit of a local hero.
“It was important for me to keep ‘Reg’, because he keeps order in the hen-house.”
Bill Egerton, the chairman of the Sutton Poyntz Society, said it was an important issue to fight.
“’I was horrified,” he said, “when somebody objected to a cockerel crowing in a rural village.
“As a society, we do try and preserve the village feel of the place, and having a cockerel crowing is a part of village life.
“I didn’t know the guy who complained, but all I can say is that some people felt incensed by the complaint, and there was a strong feeling in the village.
“His was a point of view that wasn’t shared by the rest of the village.”
A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Council confirmed that the matter had now been dropped. (mailonline)