Former art dealer handed £250k bill after noisy building work killed neighbours' falcons
A former London art dealer has been ordered to pay £250,000 after building work caused so much noise it killed three falcons belonging to his neighbours.
A High Court judge ruled the work carried out by Barnes Thomas, 29, on his land in Cornish hamlet of St Just, had resulted in the deaths of three birds, including a race-winning gyr falcon worth £150,000.
Mr Thomas, who appeared as a contestant on Bear Grylls' survival skills show The Island in 2018, purchased the land through his company and set up a small farm in 2020.
He soon found himself locked in a 'bitter' neighbour row with brothers, Martin Nicholas 32, and Scott Nicholas, 31, who breed birds of prey.
The Nicholas brothers live in houses nearby, while also running a falcon-breeding business, known as Raptors of Penwith Ltd, next door to Mr Thomas' land.
Although they got on well initially, the three fell out, with the brothers accusing Mr Thomas of causing so much noise on his land that it killed three valuable falcons.
They also alleged a campaign of harassment, including him leaving caged peacocks outside Scott Nicholas' home to disturb him and of stacking silage bales to block his sea view.
Mr Thomas himself countered with his own harassment allegations, including being allegedly chased for three miles by a Raptors of Penwith employee in his van.
The case went before the High Court in Bristol, with Judge Jonathan Russen KC ruling in the brothers' favour and awarding Raptors of Penwith £258,500 damages from Mr Thomas and his company.
He said the noisy work constituted 'nuisance and negligence' and had resulted in the deaths of three birds, lost eggs and reduced breeding in the aviary.
However, although he accepted some incidents occurred, he rejected the claims of harassment from both sides.
Giving judgment on the dispute, Judge Russen said the 'bitter' row which erupted between the three had 'acquired real momentum ... over a relatively short space of time'.
He said Mr Thomas, who he described as 'prone to overreacting to events,' had 'proved to be a controversial neighbour', creating a lake on his land and temporarily removing a stile on a public footpath, causing 'opposition within the wider neighbourhood'.
The judge rejected the harassment claims, but ordered that Mr Thomas and his company were liable to pay the Nicholas brothers' company £258,500 damages for the impact on their birds.
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