Police called about amorous peacocks disturbing the peace

A pair of amorous feral peacocks screeching throughout the night are making neighbours’ lives a misery. The loved-up pair of birds mysteriously arrived in the Whalley Range area of south Manchester a few weeks ago and have been keeping people up during the night ever since. Desperate residents even called in the police to try and track down the owners.



But neighbours say it is a mystery where the birds came from - but are desperate for them to be re-homed so they can get some sleep. While the peahen is content to sit on garden fences, the peacock struts around back gardens, displaying his feathers and emitting piercing shrieks from 3am onwards. Residents say the pea hen first arrived around a month ago with the peacock flying in about two weeks later - and the birds are now inseparable.

Paul Unslow-Leaver, 45, said: “I’d just like them to go back to where they came from. It’s driving the kids mad - it starts calling at 3am and by the time I get up for work at 5am it’s usually outside our back door. You just wouldn’t believe how loud it is.” Eva Manley, 54, said: “They are beautiful birds but the peacock is just too loud. The first time it let out a scream I’d come out into the garden and I just ran back inside. It starts at about 5am and just keeps going and going.”



Joan Barton, 73, said: “It’s a blinking nuisance - I’ve been chasing it off my garage roof with a clothes prop.” Neighbours first contacted police in a bid to trace the birds’ owners - but no reports of any lost peacocks had been made. Officers advised residents to contact the RSPCA - but the charity say they are unable to help because the birds are not sick or injured. Local councillors are now looking at whether the pair could be re-homed in nearby Alexandra Park once restoration work there is completed this summer.