Fury over lullabies for pigs

Neighbours have complained to the authorities that the sties smell bad

A farmer who plays classical music to his pigs at bedtime has been reported to the council by his furious neighbours.

Raymond Collier says the lullabies help both his dogs and 120 pigs at his farm in Locks Heath, near Fareham in Hampshire, get off to a good night's sleep.

But people living in earshot of the sties in Segensworth Road have complained to the council that the swine symphonies are ruining their rest.

Elena Williams, of nearby Gardenia Drive, said: "The music has kept me awake several nights a week since it started in the New Year."

'Overpowering stench'

Another neighbour, Stewart Cook, said local residents were also fed up of the overpowering stench of manure.

He said: "The smell is unbearable - you can't invite people around because it's embarrassing."

But Mr Collier, 63, said: "It calms the pigs down and it might even make them grow bigger.

"I've never had any complaints for over 33 years, but they built these houses a metre from a working piggery four years ago and it has caused me lots of problems."

A spokesman for Fareham Borough Council said an inspector had visited Mr Collier's farm and found that the pigs' music was not loud enough to constitute a nuisance to neighbours.

Earlier this year, however, the farmer was ordered to change the way he stored manure to cut down on the bad smells it generated.