A COUNCIL has admitted to shortcomings in dealing with complaints over a chicken farm where police found 2,000 dead or diseased birds.

Under different circumstances, the problems at the former Gibson Poultry Packing Plant, at Cockfield, Teesdale, County Durham, should have been tackled much earlier, a senior official said.

The processing plant was the subject of residents' complaints regarding the pungent smell and flies over several years.

On November 4, three people were arrested after police, immigration and RSPCA officials carried out a dawn raid.

A Pakistani man and a Russian woman, in their twenties, were detained as illegal immigrants and later deported.

A third man, a British national in his thirties, was arrested in relation to the alleged theft of a blue E-Class Mercedes Benz found at the farm. He was released on bail pending further inquiries.

Mark Ladyman, Teesdale District Council's director of community services, said that between September and October this year, an environmental health officer had visited the farm on ten occasions and was about to serve a notice to have the licence to run the plant withdrawn.

He said the size of the birds was getting out of hand and reported this to a vet and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. But before this could be done, the ownership of the farm changed to current ownerSaleh Askarian.

Mr Ladyman told a public meeting hosted by Cockfield Parish Council: "There have been shortcomings in the operation of the chicken farm itself and some of the enforcement actions that have been taken.

"It's turned into not a very good situation. I feel, working with other partners, something could have been done a lot earlier."

Enforcement procedures were complicated and were often as frustrating for local authority officers as they were for members of the public, he said.

The meeting heard that Mr Askarian planned to apply for a licence to restock the farm.

Mr Ladyman assured residents that, if it was granted, the council would make every effort to ensure the conditions were complied with.

He said he would visit a future parish council meeting to keep people informed.

But parish councillors said they wanted rid of the smell and were not confident that the problem could be resolved.

Mr Askarian was not available for comment last night.