Ananova:

A council has banned a butcher from chopping meat after a new neighbour complained about the noise.

Brian Clapton, 50, was stunned to get an official letter after a tenant moved in above his shop, reports The Sun.

Noise enforcement officer Tim Jones told him "a statutory nuisance exists caused by loud impact or banging".

Barking and Dagenham Council instructed the butcher to soundproof his shop within two weeks or face court action.

Brian, whose business is in Barking, was also barred from using his cleaver on weekdays between 6am and 8am.

The dad of three, a butcher for 35 years, complained: "That's the most important time for a butcher - getting meat ready for the customers.

"What do you honestly expect to hear if you move in above a butcher's shop? Butchers have chopped meat for hundreds of years."

A council spokesman said: "We understand he has a right to run a business but the people who live around him also have a right to a good night's sleep."