Dogsey

A pensioner has been ordered to stop her dogs from barking after complaints by her neighbours.

Coventry City Council obtained the High Court injunction against Susan Walker-Hornblower after receiving hundreds of complaints regarding noise over the last few years from neighbours.

The injunction prevents the 67-year-old, of Wall Hill Road, Corley, from allowing her dogs to cause a noise nuisance, from having any more than three dogs living at her address and from breeding dogs.

She was also ordered to pay the city council’s court costs of £8,115.

The council says it was forced to take the drastic action following numerous complaints from neighbours about the barking dogs.

The court heard on October 7 how council enforcement officers had issued notices and fines to tackle the issue. However, Walker-Hornblower simply paid the fines and did nothing to stop the problem happening again, the court was told.

Coun Patricia Hetherton, chairman of the council’s licensing and regulatory committee, said: “Going to the High Court for an injunction is not a course of action the council takes lightly.

“This is the result of numerous attempts to try and resolve this situation amicably, then through enforcement, to end years of misery for people living nearby.

“Unfortunately, our initial efforts did not put a stop to the nuisance behaviour which forced us to go to the High Court.

“Everyone has a right to a peaceful quality of life and we have an obligation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to take action when that peace is shattered by the anti-social acts of others.”