WE recently received a letter from Worcestershire County Council advising that they had received a complaint of ‘noise nuisance’ from a barking dog on our property.

On contacting the council to refute the allegation, we are informed that their course of action is to ask the complainant to keep a diary of noise and prove our guilt.

We have no course of action at this stage to dispute the claim and no further enquiry is made from other neighbours to substantiate the claim.

Does the council not have a duty to hear from both parties? Do we not have a right to a defence?

Apparently it is the duty of the complainant to prove our guilt and not our right to prove our innocence!

Giving all the power to the complainant with no right of response leaves us wide open to exaggeration and vendetta and the council in this ‘one sided’ approach would appear to allow this possibility.

This policy needs to be changed. We have a right to a defence from the onset of a complaint and the council has a duty to gather further information before they authorise local authority approved ‘snooping’ between neighbours.

DAVID FOLEY Elm Road Kidderminster