'How can someone not give a damn for others?'

PEOPLE were forced to book hotels and sleep on relatives' couches to escape the noise of their neighbours' barking dogs, a councillor has said.

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Stephen and Layla McGuigan were this week found guilty of breaching a noise abatement notice related to their 14 barking dogs.

The couple, of St David Road, Eastham, Wirral, both appeared in Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

They had denied the offence and claimed they had taken steps to address concerns and accused those raising issues of unconscious bias and lies.

Judge Paul Healey ordered the McGuigans to pay more than £7,000 in fines and costs.

Eastham councillor Chris Carubia, who has been supporting the neighbours, said: "I take my hat off to the tenacity and the persistence of the residents there."