Man fined over noisy dogs

A Shropshire man has been ordered to pay almost £15,000 for making his neighbours' lives a misery by allowing his 27 dogs to bark around the clock.

Neighbours of Dennis Haycox, 67, from Lincoln Fields, in Billingsley, near Bridgnorth, said their lives had become unbearable after the dog owner failed to control the constant barking over a three-year period.

Haycox, who did not attend the hearing at Telford Magistrates Court yesterday, was found guilty in his absence of seven counts of failing to comply with a noise abatement notice served on him to stop the barking.

The court heard how Haycox had 27 dogs at his home which kept residents awake at night and prevented them spending time in their gardens.

Presiding magistrate, Mr Geoff Bailey, ordered Haycox to pay £14,584.59, amounting to £2,000 for each charge plus costs.

Environmental officers working for Shropshire Council, who sat in a neighbour's house to record the barking on different days, noted 346 barks and 10 howls within an hour-and-a-half.

Mr Mike Davies, prosecuting, said the nuisance barking had been going on for more than three years.

He said: "It may not be all of the dogs barking at once, it might be one or two dogs, but they would start the others off. This would go on throughout day, evening and night. This is something the residents feel very, very strongly about."

In a statement read out to the court, resident Peter Ravenhill said he and his wife were forced to sleep in a spare bedroom to escape the noise. He said: "During the day our time spent in our garden has been devastated. We find it very distressing."