Three stubborn peacocks are raiding village gardens after a mansion fire left them without their main source of food.

The birds are infuriating gardeners in Sutton Courtenay by picking at their produce, but villagers are divided over what to do with them.

Residents believe they have become more active following a fire which caused £1.2m worth of damage to a mock-tudor mansion in Lady Place in August. Residents living within the grounds, who were feeding the birds, had to move away as a result of the blaze. - and they had been regularly feeding the peacocks.

It is believed that 11 birds had originally been brought to Lady Place as pets by the late owner of the grounds, Hugh Sinclair.

Following his death, the birds were left to wander the grounds.

Some residents became increasingly concerned about the dangers the birds posed to the nearby busy High Street traffic and called for their removal.

However, the RSPCA said it could not take them away because they were essentially wild animals.

After complaints from Sutton Courtenay Parish Council, estate agents Dreweatt Neale arranged for a Norfolk animal lover to take them away.

However, other villagers enchanted by their presence in Sutton Courtenay scuppered efforts to round up all the birds by shoo-ing them off - and only eight were caught as a result.

Linda Martin, clerk of the parish council, said: "It is fair to say the village is divided over this. But We are starting to get more and more complaints."

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