Man fined for allowing dogs to bark 863 times in 23 minutes

A North Somerset man has been fined £1,000 for allowing his dogs to bark 863 times in 23 minutes. North Somerset Council served a noise abatement notice on Roger Fowler of Alison Gardens, Backwell, in May 2007 following numerous complaints.

The council then took Mr Fowler to court in May 2011 for breaching the notice and he was fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of £750. After further complaints, a council officer visited his property on March 22 this year when he counted 863 barks over a 23-minute period.



Mr Fowler denied breaching the notice when he appeared before North Somerset Magistrates but they found that Mr Fowler was in breach of the notice and fined him £1,000 and ordered him to pay costs of £2,383. North Somerset Council executive member for environment, Councillor Peter Bryant, welcomed the result.

Mr Bryant said: “Noise abatement notices are served after we have tried to resolve the noise issue. This man continues to disregard the notice and his responsibilities to the people who have the misfortune to live near him and have to suffer the constant barking from his dogs.”