AN 89-YEAR-old man has been ordered to keep his beloved geese quiet or face a court appearance and a fine of up to £5,000 after being served with a nuisance abatement notice by Bradford Council.

It is the first time in 79 years of keeping geese on land he owns behind his terraced house at Bridge Lane in Ilkley that Philip Kempley has faced any complaints about the birds.

The pensioner, who suffers from heart failure, is devastated by the order and his case has been taken up his niece Liz Tennant, who grew up in Bridge Lane and still lives nearby and visits daily.

She said: "These geese are his life. He has kept geese for 79 years on this land and to our knowledge there has been no issue or complaint, until now.

"The geese are generally 'well behaved' and only really make a noise when they are disturbed by a stranger, which the residents quite like as it alerts them to anyone wandering about the back lane. The land is big enough for the geese to lead a quite sedate and peaceful life."

However, Bradford Council recently contacted Mr Kempley about a complaint and on Wednesday last week the notice in respect of statutory nuisance arrived in the post. It gives Mr Kempley 21 days to stop the nuisance caused by the geese and if contravened he is liable to a fine of £500 for each day on which an offence continues after conviction.

Ilkley's independent councillor Anne Hawkesworth has branded the action "another dose of big government interfering with people's lives".

She added: "It is absolutely awful what is happening. I visited on Monday and the reality is they aren't noisy and it would be appalling if he had to get rid of them. The majority of the neighbours like them because they are like guard dogs."

Cllr Hawkesworth and Mrs Tennant have been visiting neighbours in Bridge Lane and also residents of Middleton Road and have found nothing but support for Mr Kempley and his geese.

Mrs Tennant, who will be appealing against the notice, said: "I have spoken to most of the residents of Bridge Lane and Middleton Road who are shocked that this notice has been issued and fully support the geese being there.

"We are happy to look at ways of minimising the noise from the geese by removing some of them but the ones that are left will make some noise some of the time.

"The residents are in the process of petitioning against this action and quite a few of them have expressed their support and offers of help with dealing with this situation, such writing to Bradford Council or speaking to councillors. I think what has surprised both us and them is that no consultation has occurred prior to this Abatement Notice being issued and whilst one disgruntled resident has had their feelings heard, the rest of the neighbourhood has had no say whatsoever.

"The fact that my uncle is likely to incur an £500 fine for every day the geese cause a disturbance seems totally extreme, unnecessary and stressful for an 86 year old law-abiding gentleman!"

A Bradford Council Environmental Health spokesperson said: “We have received a complaint about noise from geese and devices which make a noise to deter foxes on a site in the Bridge Street area of Ilkley.

"As with any noise complaint, we have to investigate, so officers have monitored the site. Their investigation showed the noise was at a level which would cause a nuisance and as a result a notice has been served under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the owner to take action to reduce the noise by 29 June."