downsmail.co.uk
Noisy Hendrix causes a neighbourly dispute
ACOCKEREL called Hendrix will live to crow another day despite landing himself in trouble with the council. Owner Katie Rose feared Hen-
drix’s days could be numbered when neighbours in Old School Close, Lenham, complained to Maidstone Borough Council about the noise he makes. Despite trying a range of meas-
ures, Katie (31) could not silence her pet – so she set up an online pe- tition to Lenham Parish Council, which gained more than 250 signa- tures of support. Katie said: “He is a much-loved
family pet – his crowing is not ex- cessive and just natural behaviour. Two neighbours have complained – whereas many of us love to hear him announcing the day!” Former police officer Katie’s hus-
band Darren bought Hendrix for his wife last September, along with four hens. Since then, Katie (31), Darren and their three children Joshua (9), Isabelle (6) and Made- line (4) have spent many happy hours with their feathered friends
In recent days, Hendrix was
Katie Rose and children with their pet cockerel Hendrix
at their home in High Street, Lenham. Katie tried several meth- ods of silencing him, including put- ting him into a hedgehog box so his neck is bent low, restricting his nat- ural urge to crow. She said: “Hewas shut in that all
night andwas really miserable.We never let him out now before 8am, but even that didn’t stop the com- plaints.”
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being kept inside the family home, which seems to have worked. Maidstone Council has refuted Hendrix might be destroyed. After working with the council’s officers, MBC has written to Katie saying: “It is not Maidstone Bor- ough Council’s intention to re- move, harm or destroy Hendrix. We believe that if crowing is re- stricted to the daytime and does not disturb the normal hours of sleep, there is no reason why Hen- drix will not be able to continue to be a part of your family. " Katie’s immediate neighbours
have no problem with Hendrix – named after the guitar legend - even shift worker Gary Tong, who is often asleep during Hendrix’s waking hours. “If people don’t like the noises of the country, they shouldn’t live here,” he said. Lenham resident Margaret Mitchell wrote on Facebook: “I have heard your cockerel and I thought ‘how lovely to hear him’. You keep him and ignore those nar- row-minded townies.”
News
Church thieves steal £200 in collection cash
THIEVES who broke a church win- dow in order to steal a century-old safe walked away with not-so-rich pickings. Apart from the communion sil-
ver, which they left behind when they abandoned the safe, the thieves found themselves with just the proceeds from the Sunday serv- ice collection at St Martin of Tours in Detling – a maximum of £200. Police later found the safe aban-
doned in a suitcase in a field off Coldblow Lane, Thurnham. Churchwarden June Eckton said:
“Itwas very upsetting to think that people would break into a church building. Our only consolationwas that they would have had to spend a lot of time tearing open all the of- fertory envelopes. There would not normally have been any cash in the building, but the offertory had been put in the safe because the church treasurerwas unwell.” The church will now be obtaining
a new safe which can be bolted to the floor and faces a repair bill for the leaded window, expected to run to several hundred pounds. The chalices are now stored away
from the church to avoid any fur- ther temptation for thieves.
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