A man has been banned from keeping dogs over what officials described as “one of the worst cases of noise nuisance” they've ever investigated.
John Peter Laveric, 46, of Pit Lane, Widnes, was slapped with a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) and told to pay £500 in costs after complaints from stressed-out neighbours over his pets barking thousands of times. Under the CBO, Laveric must remove all dogs from his home and not have any dogs on those premises or anywhere else in Halton.
Laveric appeared on Tuesday at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington, which heard complaints over excessive barking began at his previous home on Eric Street, Widnes, in May 2017. Halton Borough Council first prosecuted Laveric in April 2018 in what a spokeswoman for the authority said was one of the worse noise nuisance cases dealt with, up until that point.
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A CBO was imposed in April 2018 and a court ordered Laveric to remove his dogs from Eric Street. Complaints started up again in May 2018 after Laveric moved to Pit Lane.
The council again took him to court where he pleaded guilty to breaching a noise abatement notice previously served in July 2019. An application for a second CBO was adjourned, and complaints continued.
On Tuesday this week, the court granted a CBO, which prohibits Laveric from keeping dogs on any premises within the borough of Halton. The council spokeswoman said the court heard that over a three-year period 11 neighbouring properties complained to environmental health over excessive barking from dogs kept at the property on Pit Lane.
She said witnesses described how the anxiety and stress significantly impacted their mental health and quality of life. Some of the worst incidents presented to the court showed that last year:
On May 6 his dogs barked approximately 514 times in a 13-minute period. On March 9 the pets barked about 1,293 times in 47 minutes.
On March 20 they barked around 1,645 times in a 20-minute period.
The spokeswoman told the Echo that Laveric owned multiple large dogs including a Presa Canario and a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Welcoming the sentencing of Laveric, Cllr Martha Lloyd Jones (environmental health) said: “This is one of the worst cases of noise nuisance that the environmental health team have dealt with and has involved considerable nuisance impacting the quality of life of a number of Mr Laveric’s neighbours over a five-year period at two-different properties.
"We hope that this case sends out a message that we will not hesitate to pursue robust enforcement action against the worst offenders in order to protect the health and wellbeing of our residents.
"The council would like to recognise the patience and resilience shown by residents during the lengthy legal process and the courage of those who attended court to give evidence.
“I also commend the professionalism and diligence of the investigating officer and our legal team who have pursued this case through the courts to secure justice for the local residents."
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