Furious locals whose lives have been made a living hell by a flock of feral chickens have voted to kick the birds out of their leafy village.
People living in Snettisham, Norfolk, say the 100-strong noisy birds have been rampaging through and digging up their gardens and their crows are keeping them up at night.
Irate villagers have been accused of kicking the birds and are even resorting to driving at them with their cars, such is their hatred for the chickens.
They claim that those travelling to see the birds from outside the area are making matters worse by leaving out food for them, which is attracting rats.
Others want the chickens left in peace because they add to the village’s rural charm and have been there for many years.
But the birds’ fate was sealed at a fiesty annual parish assembly last night when the majority of attendees voted for them to be rehomed.
People living in Snettisham, Norfolk, say the noisy birds have been rampaging through and digging up their gardens and crowing through the night
The birds’ fate was sealed at the village’s annual parish assembly when the majority of attendees voted for them to be rehomed
Some 35 voted to remove some of the birds, with the help of charity Fresh Start for Hens, which rehomes thousands of ex-battery and free range chickens each year.
They will also ensure they are properly fed and looked after hearing concerns over the creatures’ welfare including rooster’s suffering skin ailments.
Just six voted for the chickens to be left where they are along Common Road.
Retired HR assistant Vanessa Taylor, 72, travels daily from her home in Heacham to feed the chickens.
She told the meeting: ‘I’ve seen people kick them, I’ve seen people drive at them – and I’ve had people drive at me when I’ve been feeding them.
‘The only way to deal with this situation is to have them all removed. I will happily help in any way I can.’
After the meeting, Mrs Taylor added: ‘I’ve been called every filthy word you can imagine, I’ve been told I’m fly-tipping and I should be done.
David Bocking, 86, said he had known of the birds being on Common Road in some form since the aftermath of World War Two
Eric Langford
Snettisham Parish Council called in Fresh Start for Hens after receiving complaints about the chickens. Vicky Sewell (pictured second from the left), from its Watton branch, said they had a no-cull policy and all of the birds would be rehoused
Locals claimed that those travelling to see the birds from outside the area are leaving out food for them, which is attracting rats
‘I just want to see them looked after properly and re-homed.’
Snettisham Parish Council called in Fresh Start for Hens after receiving complaints about the chickens, especially the number of cockerels compared to hens.
Vicky Sewell, a volunteer with its Watton branch, said the charity had a no-cull policy.
Mrs Sewell said: ‘I can promise you that they would all be rehomed, including the cockerels.’
She added some of the birds were malnourished and had painful ailments such as skin conditions and scaly leg.
The chickens are thought to have originally belonged to an allotment on the woodland alongside Common Road before the owner died.
However, David Bocking, 86, said he had known of the birds being on Common Road in some form since the aftermath of World War Two.
The parish councillor spoke as a resident and said the chickens were ‘part and parcel of living in Snettisham’ and he wouldn’t like to see them go.
The parish council will work with Fresh Start for Hens to help the charity work to reduce the size of the flock.
Rod Mackenzie, a parish councillor who lives on the road, previously said: ‘They’re a pain in the butt. If they come into your garden, they dig everything up.
‘It’s not just food for the chickens, it’s every bit of detritus they can find and that brings rats.
‘What was it someone left the other week? A quart of pink prawns. The rats are quite sizeable around here and they breed like hell.’
A cockerel struts along the road in Snettisham which is being overrun by a flock of feral chickens
The birds have also been accused of attracting rats to the leafy village
Locals on Common Lane have complained about the flock destroying their gardens and keeping them awake at night
Company director Ben King, 48, who also lives on the lane where the birds nest, said he has to wear earplugs to sleep at night because of their constant crowing.
He said: ‘They’re out of control now, there’s not just one or two. They’ve started coming into gardens and you get rats as well.
‘If someone came and moved them, I’d buy them a big beer.’
MailOnline has contacted Fresh Start for Hens to ask when the birds will be rehomed.
