Butcher banned from chopping his meat before 8am after neighbours complain

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A butcher has been banned from chopping meat early in the morning - because the council decided his business was too noisy.

He says the decision has forced him out of the shop he has run for 13 years.

Brian Clapton is so angry that he plans to close his business - one of the few traditional English butchers left in his area - and set up elsewhere.

The council ordered the 51-year-old to stop chopping meat before 8am because nearby residents said he was too noisy in December last year.

He was told by council officers to soundproof the shop at his own expense, despite the fact that he has been trading there for more than a decade.

He refused as the council owns the building and he says it should not have given a lease to a butcher if there was a problem with noise.

Mr Clapton said he planned to close Brian's Meats in Barking, Essex and move to Romford in the summer.

He added: "My story came out and after that I got a call from a chap who's setting up a new food hall at Romford Market.

"He's been down to see my shop, and likes the way I work so he's offered me a unit there.

"I'm seriously thinking about moving because I used to have a shop in Havering for ten years and I was treated much better than I was here.

"I'm the last English-style butcher in Barking and Ilford and I'm probably going to be going. Soon it will just be supermarkets or halal butchers left and they don't suit everybody's needs. It's very sad."

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Traditional butcher: But Brian Clapton's neighbours have complained about the noise from his shop

Mr Clapton added: "I've been here for 13 years and I've got a great rapport with the people. I give them value for money and I don't rip them off.

"I love Barking, but I think I should take the offer and go to Romford."

A Barking and Dagenham Council spokeswoman said: "The council did receive a complaint regarding the use of premises for the shop and is obligated to investigate."