peacocks

Mating peacocks have been “causing mayhem” with all night noise and attacks on cars in an otherwise sleepy village in County Durham.

The people of Ushaw Moor say as many as 30 peacocks and peahens have been scratching the paint work on cars with their claws and beaks when they see their reflections and fouling the streets as they roam wild.

Things in the former pit village – home to more than 4,000 people – have become so bad that local resident Graham Bridge has started a petition on change.org to demand authorities take action.

Mr Bridge is self-employed in financial services, and has to put up with the birds screeching all day long when he is trying to work at home.

After six years residents have had enough of the birds and the petition has more than 100 signatures calling on Durham County Council’s environmental health department to act.

Mr Bridge said: “Sleep to me is the number-one nuisance, to a degree you can live with the other things.”

Joanne Waller, head of environment, health and consumer protection at Durham County Council, said: “We have received complaints about noise from peacocks in Ushaw Moor and we are currently investigating to determine whether they create a statutory noise nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.”