Judge orders a couple who had four cockerels that crow from dawn to dusk, after three years of suffering for their neighbor’s misery, to return them home.  

Lorraine Burgeen, age 58, and Alexander Burgeen, her husband, fled their Blackpool neighbors, Lancashire neighbours, as if they had been in some kind of ‘nightmare.

According to residents, they approached the couple for help three years ago and were treated with hostility.    

A neighbor said, “It’s been a nightmare.” It’s impossible to sit outside your home, and you cannot open the windows.

Lorraine Burgeen, 58, and her husband Alexander, 69, left their neighbours in Blackpool, Lancashire, feeling like they were living through a 'nightmare'. Stock picture

Lorraine Burgeen (58), and Alexander, 69 left Blackpool neighbours feeling as though they were going through a nightmare. Picture from stock 

“It’s been an awful noise, and they just don’t seem to care.”

Both the couple and their lawyer pleaded guilty to offences of noise abatement at Blackpool Magistrates Court.

According to court records, neighbours raised formal objections after trying to remove the birds diplomatically in 2018.

One neighbor said that they had politely asked the neighbors to address it and received aggression in their return.

“We heard their cries through the windows. We are woken by the cockerels at 5 a.m., when they start crowing all night until dark.

Residents complained about noise and also experienced infestations from rats due to the presence of cockerels in their coop.

Another neighbor stated that they have been referred to Environmental Health a few times. An elderly neighbor was forced to pay poison for his pet to die. It is absurd.

“I was working at home since the pandemic. It has been very distracting. It is unbelievable how high the decibels get.

Residents on the street (pictured) say they had asked the couple to remove the birds three years ago but had been met with aggression

Pictured: Residents of the area claim they approached the couple about removing the birds in 2003, but were met with hostility.

Rick Scott, the ward counsellor, helped one resident contact Rick Scott. He arranged for Blackpool Council sound monitoring equipment to be installed nearby. The results were shocking.

He stated that cockerels have been crowing at incongruous hours for quite some time. The neighbours have suffered terrible consequences.

“There were rats. Environmental Health and Pest Control had to be able to address the issue.

“But the coop still exists and so the rats keep coming. Then they will have to deal with dead rats.

“The neighbor have to deal with quite a bit. You expect it if you purchase a home near a farm. It’s not possible to find it in Blackpool. You might not expect it.

Sentencing the Burgeens to year-long conditional discharges, and ordering them to pay £122 costs each, Blackpool Magistrates Court chairman Simon Bridge told them: ‘You must sort this out now. This is an alert.

Sharon Davies is the Blackpool Council prosecutor. They were first reported to the council in March 2018.

“The complaint was that they crowled, which is something they do naturally.

“But the complaints continued to be loud. The residents were given noise abatement notices that they had broken, which was not appropriate.

Frau Burgeen spoke in court and said, “[The cockerels]They are my dogs. These were rescue dogs.

“We’ve done all we can to control the noise.

“We tried to get them new homes right up until now. They will need to be put down by a veterinarian.

She said that her husband had put bin bags inside the chicken coops in order to reduce the sound. This has been a great help.

The couple will have until Monday to locate new homes for their birds. After that, they will be taken away.

A neighbor stated that she was delighted with the results, though it shouldn’t take so long. They are still there after all the work involved.

“We do not object to their having chickens. But, there is no reason why they should have cockerels. Cockerels are not necessary for chickens producing eggs.

“It should not be allowed. It is not right to allow cockerels in residential areas. And it shouldn’t take more than three years for them to be evicted.