FOR two years they had ruffled the feathers of Scotland's legal system as the first cockerels to be handed down an animal Asbo.

 

And they were left facing the chop after property manager Alex Panayotti lost his long legal battle to fight for the right of his daughter Stella to keep the rowdy birds in the back garden of their home after neighbours complained the noise they made was unbearable.

 

But yesterday Rooster and Gobi, the cacophonous pets at the centre of the bizarre legal dispute, were crowing contentedly in their new home 70 miles away from the Mearns village of Inverbervie where they had been branded a "statutory nuisance."

 

The two cockerels have taken up residence in a "chicken paradise" at the Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre in Comrie after the owners of the sanctuary learned of their plight.

 

The rehoming of the noisy pair marks the final chapter in a dispute which began in 2008 when Aberdeenshire Council first issued a noise abatement notice, seeking the birds' removal, when neighbours complained their crowing was making their lives a misery.

 

The birds were the pets of Mr Panayotti's 13-year-old daughter, Stella, who had been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome at the time. And Mr Panayotti argued the cockerels had provided his daughter with some, much-needed diversion. He then went to the courts to challenge the council's order and called in the services of a sound expert, which alone cost him £3,000.

 

But earlier this month Mr Panayotti, 52, was left facing a huge legal bill, including the costs incurred by the local authority, after Stonehaven Sheriff Patrick Davies ruled in favour of the council and ordered him to get rid of the birds.

 

In his written judgment, Sheriff Davies stated: "I am satisfied, at the time the notice was served, there was a statutory nuisance resulting from the noise made by the cockerels. The serving of the notice was, thus, justified.

 

"It has not been shown that any steps short of removing the two cockerels would abate the nuisance."

 

Mr Panayotti, of King Street, Inverbervie, said: "I hoped it would go my way. He (Sheriff Davies] seems to have agreed with the complainers on everything."

 

The businessman was left "fearing the worst" for his daughter's feathered friends following the ruling. But it was revealed yesterday that the chickens have now found a new home in the heart of Highland Perthshire. Maxine Scott, who runs Auchingarrich with her husband Andrew, said: "We offered the cockerels a new home when we learned about what was happening.

 

"We have variety of animals here from sheep and cows to more exotic animals like monkeys. And we have a large grassy area for the chickens. It's chicken paradise if you like."

 

She continued: "Mr Panayotti and his daughter took the cockerels down to the centre and I think they were glad to see they were going somewhere where they will have lots of room to run about and where there are lots of other chickens and cockerels.

 

"They have settled in really well. Rooster is quite a bossy chap and he has been having a few fights already."

 

Mrs Scott added: "We have told the Panayottis they can come and visit the cockerels any time they like."

 

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: "We are bound to investigate noise complaints and take action as appropriate.

 

"The court accepted that a noise nuisance existed, despite efforts to mitigate the noise, that the council had acted reasonably and upheld the notice.

 

"As such, Mr Panayotti's cockerels are considered a nuisance under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and require to be removed."