'I have never heard dogs scream like this... they go berserk'

NEIGHBOURS CLAIM COUPLE WITH 14 DOGS CAUSING BARKING HELL

- By ED BARNES

A MARRIED couple in Merseyside have been accused of letting their dogs “go berserk” by neighbours who said the situation has become “horrible’, a court has heard.

Stephen and Layla McGuigan (pictured) have been taken to court by Wirral Council.

The couple, of St David’s Road, Eastham, Wirral, both appeared in Liverpool Magistrates Court yesterday charged with four offences each of contravention or failure to comply with a noise abatement notice.

These are alleged to have taken place in April 2024 but are denied by the couple, who said they had taken steps to address concerns, accused some neighbours of lying, and denied their dogs were a problem.

Liverpool Magistrates Court heard the case began when Wirral Council served the couple with a noise abatement notice in 2023 after the local authority received a number of complaints from those living nearby.

The local authority said some neighbours had since moved.

The council relied on evidence from Wirral Council technical officer Paul Bratley and said they had sent a letter to the address in May 2023 telling the couple they were investigating noise complaints.

The court heard this offered advice on how to reduce dog barking.

Two neighbours Barry Heayns and Annette Owen were called forward by the council.