THE early morning cockerel crow is one of the traditional sounds of the countryside and nature's way of signalling the start of a new day.

But now George the cockerel has been ordered to put a sock in it by York council chiefs.

The bird's furious owners, Nev and Maggie Earnshaw, of The Village, Earswick, York, say residents from the new Earswick Chase estate had complained about the cock's early morning crow, but say they should have expected it when moving to the countryside.

City of York Council was originally alerted to the noise made by the couple's former cockerels, Norman - named after comedian Norman Collier who was famous for his poultry impressions - and Albert.

In a letter to Mr Earnshaw, officers suggested he should stop the birds crowing by lowering the roof of the coop or raising their perch. They also suggested placing a sock over the birds' heads to muffle the sound. Norman and Albert were later killed by a fox, but Mr Earnshaw has now been advised to keep his new cockerel, George, quiet by painting the roof of his coop black to make him think the sun has not risen.

"The advice we've had is so silly," said Mr Earnshaw, 67, who also has six hens at the bottom of his garden. "George has got a pathetic little crow anyway. We want to keep him if we can."

Under the council's noise nuisance rules, the Earnshaws could face court action and a hefty fine if preventative measures are not taken.

Mr Earnshaw said five-month-old George began his early morning crow between 6.30am and 7am.

"I think it's crackers," Mrs Earnshaw said. "If you move into a rural area you've got to expect to hear rural sounds. Putting a sock over a cockerel's head would be cruel." The Earnshaws' neighbours, Andrew Nichols, 43, and Helen Mead, 44, who have two daughters, Molly and Rosie, said they welcomed George's morning call. "We have noise from the ring road, mowers in summer, strimmers, hedge cutters, garden trampolines - the odd cockerel is a welcome sound," said Andrew.

Helen said: "This is a rural setting and anyone who lives here should welcome rural noises."

A City of York Council spokeswoman, said: "The council's environmental protection team is working with local residents and the Earnshaws to try to achieve an amicable solution to the problem.

"A member of the team has carried out extensive research into formally recognised methods of stopping cockerels crowing. This included contacting the Caged Birds Society, Domestic Foul Trust and Cage and Aviary Birds, and other local authorities for advice.

Updated: 11:24 Wednesday, January 11, 2006