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Peacock Blinders! Terrorising a quiet market town in Suffolk, the brutal gang of preening show-offs who make TV's Peaky Blinders look tame

Peacocks are showing their ugly side in the Suffolk market town of Beccles
Birds scratch cars, dig up plants and are laying waste to residents' lawns
Their screeching dawn chorus echoes through the quiet streets at 4.30am
Homeowners desperately defending houses with water-pistols and hoses

By Andrew Young and Nick Craven for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 21:47 GMT, 21 May 2016 | Updated: 21:48 GMT, 21 May 2016

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They may look magnificent when they display their stunning plumage – but peacocks are showing their ugly side in an otherwise sleepy market town.

Residents of Beccles in Suffolk are being terrorised by the birds, who scratch cars, dig up plants and lay waste to lawns. Their screeching dawn chorus shatters the silence at 4.30am every morning, and their droppings defile the neighbourhood.

Householders have deployed water-pistols and garden hoses to see off the vandals, at least temporarily. And a council plan to trap them ended in failure when the peacocks evaded the nets and took up perches on nearby rooftops.

Residents of Beccles in Suffolk are being terrorised by the birds, who scratch cars, dig up plants and lay waste to lawns

Their screeching dawn chorus shatters the silence at 4.30am every morning, and their droppings defile the neighbourhood. Pictured, Melanie Goodwin in her garden which has been devastated by the peacocks

‘We went out with nets, but we couldn’t get anywhere near them,’ Green party councillor Graham Elliott, 55, admitted. ‘They are churning up the ground, fouling everywhere and making quite a bit of noise. A lot of people are getting fed up.’

Police have received several reports of damage to cars and property. But a spokesman pointed out that no criminal offences had been committed.

There are at least eight birds in the gang – or, more correctly, the ‘ostentation’ – but nobody knows who, if anyone, owns them.

Police have received several reports of damage to cars and property. But a spokesman pointed out that no criminal offences had been committed

There are at least eight birds in the gang – or, more correctly, the ‘ostentation’ – but nobody knows who, if anyone, owns them

Melanie Goodwin, a retired librarian, said: ‘They are very big birds and they are naturally destructive. They trample over flowerbeds and I have seen them tearing up bedding plants'

Householders have deployed water-pistols and garden hoses to see off the vandals, at least temporarily

Melanie Goodwin, a retired librarian, said: ‘They are very big birds and they are naturally destructive. They trample over flowerbeds and I have seen them tearing up bedding plants. My neighbour lost his entire tomato crop to them.’

And retired lorry driver Dennis Comeau, 70, said the birds had repeatedly attacked his Ford Mondeo.

‘I’ve had scratches on the roof, bonnet and wings,’ he said. ‘It is not nice. I’ve also had to wash my car countless times as they have fouled on it.’