Your World of Legal Intelligence
 United Kingdom | +44 (0) 20 7284 8080

Fined £700 for barking dogs left all day outside

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date05 April 2021
Publication titleBirmingham Mail (England)
Thomas Nisbet admitted he did not take the problem seriously - despite Birmingham City Council issuing multiple warnings that the two dogs were causing a nuisance.

Nisbet, 67, of Stephens Road, Sutton Coldfield, said he was 'shocked' at being hauled into the dock to face Birmingham magistrates in one of the old-fashioned courtrooms usually reserved for the most serious criminal cases.

Apologising for the inconvenience caused to his neighbour, he said: "When we came in here today, we were totally shocked, I didn't expect to be sitting here.

"I thought we would go in a room and get told off and to keep the dogs under control." Nisbet admitted nine charges of failing to comply with an abatement notice. The chair of the bench emphasised they

I didn't sitting here. we would and get told keep the Thomas were 'serious offences' and confirmed he would be fined £700.

In addition, he was told to pay £577 in court costs and a £180 victim surcharge, resulting in a total bill of £1,457.

Olivia Beesley, representing Birmingham City Council, said the authority first notified Nisbet in December 2019 following a complaint about two dogs left in his back garden all day and barking while he was out.

A second letter was issued in January 2020 confirming the council was investigating the matter as reports continued. A third was sent in May.

Ms Beesley said environmental health officers 'witnessed two dogs barking and were satisfied it was a statutory nuisance'. Problems persisted throughout the summer despite ongoing dialogue between the council and Mr Nisbet's wife in particular, who initially apologised.

Officers set up noise monitoring equipment in August which confirmed the dogs were causing a nuisance in breach of...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT