A NOISY cockerel has led to complaints from residents who are being kept awake in the city centre.
The loud crowing starts at 4am giving people living in Arboretum a rude awakening.
They have been forced to complain to Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) in the hopes of once again enjoying a good night's sleep.
WRS said it is investigating the noise complaints where the cockerel is being kept in Arboretum, with neighbours saying it causing them to lose sleep.
Sonya Vickers, 48, who lives in the area, said: “We went away and when we came back at Easter we realised the neighbours had the cockerel.
“It’s now been eight weeks of broken sleep.
“The cockerel starts crowing at 4am, sometimes it is 5am, but it's every day.
“My 25-year-old daughter hears it more as her bedroom is that side of the house. She has had to move to her sibling’s bedroom to get some sleep.
“She had to be off work last week, for most of the week.
“Some of us have gone round and politely asked to at least keep it in a dark coop until 8am, before letting it out.
“But nothing has happened. We have asked nicely several times.
“It is antisocial. It is making life a bit of a nightmare for some down here.
“We heard it might be breaking a bylaw to keep the cockerel and the hens they have.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said it had disturbed them as they worked from home, and was crowing during zoom calls.
The neighbour added: “WRS have been brilliant, but it can take time.
“With avian flu going round it is not ideal for the animal, surely it should be kept indoors.”
A reporter attempted to contact the owners of the cockerel but had no response before our deadline.
There is no law against keeping hens or cockerels in your garden, but a noisy cockerel can potentially constitute a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, if it is deemed to cause significant interference to the normal occupation of premises.
A spokesperson for Worcester Regulatory Services said: “We have received complaints about a noisy cockerel at a property in the Arboretum area. We are actively investigating these complaints and cannot comment further at this stage.”
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