A COUPLE whose dogs' non-stop yapping drove their next-door neighbours out of their home must pay more than £5,000 in fines and other charges.

Jan Catchpole, prosecuting for City of York Council, said noise enforcement officers counted up to 43 barks a minutes from the two Jack Russells in Holly Bank Road, Acomb.

The dogs barked continuously for hours when they were left alone in the terraced house, on at least one occasion until they were hoarse, and made so much noise the next-door couple could not concentrate on reading a book or watching television.

One of the neighbours had previously had a stroke, and both had problems resting while they recovered from illnesses including a norovirus, she said.

At times they found the continuous noise from the Gouldings' house so much they left their house until the dogs' owners had returned home.

"I am not asking for much, just for the neighbours to stop their dogs barking incessantly," said one of the neighbours in a witness statement.

Brenda and Brian Goulding, both 52, were summonsed to York Magistrates Court, but did not attend, or send any response to the summons to the court, magistrates heard.

They were convicted in their absence of four charges each of contravening a noise abatement order by not stopping their dogs barking.

Magistrates fined each £1,600, plus a £160 statutory surcharge, plus £150 court costs, plus £647.45 prosecution costs, which gave the couple a total joint bill of £5,114.90.

Miss Catchpole said when council officers spoke to the Gouldings about the barking on November 19, 2014, Brenda Goulding claimed their next-door neighbours were harassing them and were using the council to continue their harassment.

In formal interviews this summer, Brenda Goulding said she and her husband had bought calming medication for their dogs, used calming sprays and left the radio on when leaving the dogs alone in the house but had not sought professional advice from animal behaviour experts. The Gouldings had also tried not to leave the dogs alone.

Miss Catchpole said the dogs had caused problems for 11 years and for nine years, the next-door neighbours had lived elsewhere renting out their home. But the barking had caused tenants to leave.

When they approached the Gouldings to try and resolve the problem, Brenda Goulding had shouted at them, said Miss Catchpole.

The council issued a noise abatement notice in November after measuring the barking. Officers also gave the Gouldings advice on how to stop dogs barking.

But on February 11, April 29, May 9 and May 10, noise enforcement officers and the neighbours heard incessant barking that was so bad it caused an official nuisance.