The owner of a flock of noisy cockerels which were kept in a conservatory has been fined after his birds regularly woke neighbours in the early hours.

Breckland Council issued a noise abatement notice after receiving numerous complaints about the poultry-owner allowing his cockerels to cause noise in the Neatherd area of Dereham.

The resident did not work with council officers to find a solution to the noise issue and twice failed to attend court on two occasions, so the case was heard in his absence.

The magistrate found him guilty of not complying with the notice and fined him £660 — with an order to pay a £66 victim surcharge and the councils’ legal costs.

Gordon Bambridge, executive member for waste and environment at Breckland Council, said: “We always prefer to work with all parties concerned to find an appropriate solution, however we were fully prepared to take formal action after the owner of the birds chose not to engage with our officers and took no action to control the crowing cockerels and tackle the unacceptable daily noise nuisance for neighbours in the built-up area.”