At first glance, Kington Lane looks like a perfect vision of rural bliss. The winding lane in Claverdon, Warwickshire, boasts sweeping views of the rolling countryside and dozens of upmarket homes. But residents claim their peaceful idyll has been ruined - by a controversial pheasant farm. They say the Heart of England farm blights their everyday lives and has knocked more than £100,000 off house prices, a claim owner Ole Gronning denies. Last month we revealed how the farm had been investigated by animal rights campaigners who alleged thousands of birds were being mass-produced in terrible conditions. Now the business is at the centre of a new row after being accused of noise pollution and of being the source of fly swarms and obnoxious smells. Roy Hopkins has lived in Kington Lane for nearly 30 years and used to love tending to the garden outside his bungalow. But when Heart of England set up shop in the mid-1980s, Mr Hopkins claims his quality of life nose-dived. My wife and I used to have beautiful views right through to the next village, said Mr Hopkins, who is 66. Now we have had to grow our hedges right up to block off dozens of pheasant pens. There are thousands of birds cooped up and the smell is disgusting. We are kept awake at night by the constant croaking they make, which also goes on throughout the day. But the worst part is the flies and rats which are drawn to the pheasants. There are swarms of flies everywhere, which makes it impossible to stay outside for more than five minutes. They infest the house and there are rats in every one of our gardens. It is an utter nightmare. One woman in the lane wanted to sell up and get out, but found the farm had lopped £100,000 off the value of her house. Last month Stratford-Upon-Avon District Council turned down an application from the farm to build a giant stock barn housing another 36,000 pheasant chicks. If built, it would sit just 120 metres from neighbouring homes. Exasperated residents have the farm had lopped £100,000 off the value of her house. More than 20 people came round to view it but all of them were put off by the farm behind. Heart of England already has around 50,000 birds on its 35-acre site and has ambitious plans for expansion. already written to local MP John Maples to voice their concerns about the farm. Mr Hopkins even commissioned an independent environmental report to assess problems arising from Heart of England. The expert said there were a whole host of reasons why the barn should not be built there, but really it would just be adding to an existing problem, he said. This used to be a beautiful lane but everyone is fed up living next door to this place which pollutes every aspect of our lives. Last night, farm-owner Mr Gronning said: I dont want to make any comment at all. I have nothing to say to you. | 
