Village eviction for noisy bird

Peacocks can make high pitched noises

A noisy peacock has been ordered to pipe down or be banished from a quiet Shropshire village.

Percy got some of the villagers of Upton Magna in a real flap after wandering free around the streets.

They complained that he was making too much noise and held a mini vote in the form of a "for and against" petition.

Now Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council has slapped an environment order on his owner, farmer Royston Ford, telling him to keep Percy quiet.

It has been suggested by the owner that he may be able to find a more appropriate home for Percy David Spode, environmental officer

He now has now been forced to lock Percy inside a cow shed or else he will have to be removed from the village.

Percy's owner, Mr Ford, told BBC News Online: "I am angry for the village.

"I have had Percy since he hatched four years ago and originally I thought he would be nice around the farm but I hardly see him - he's so popular with the villagers."

He added: "As far as I know there was only two complaints but 98 per cent of the village seem to love Percy.

"I've had to lock him up in the cow shed and he hates it because he's run free all his life. He'll have to stay there unless the people who complained decide to withdraw their complaints."

'Appropriate home'

David Spode, the council's environmental officer, said: "Last year in the Spring we had the first complaints and this year when the early mornings were upon us we had complaints about the peacock noise.

"Our officers have done an assessment and felt it was the kind of noise at the kind of level at a time which was not reasonable to expect people to sleep through."

He added: "It has been suggested by the owner that he may be able to find a more appropriate home for Percy and if that can be done, we would be happy with that solution."

Despite being branded a nuisance, Percy has gained the sympathy of some villagers.

They say he is a local character and is an excellent traffic calming measure.