A recent court case has raised a stink among neighbours and council officials after a wildlife rescuer was cleared of violating an abatement notice over the “revolting” smell from her garden fox enclosure.

Juliet Auburn, 60, who cared for up to 16 foxes at her home near Grayshott, faced complaints from neighbours who claimed the odour made it impossible to use their gardens.

Her nearest neighbour, Frank Gates, living just two metres from Auburn’s fox pens, first raised the issue with East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) in 2017, stating the smell was “overbearing” and prevented him from enjoying his garden.

EHDC issued an abatement notice, but Gates and other neighbours argued Auburn’s efforts to address the odour were insufficient. Fresh complaints in March 2023 led to a renewed investigation, with the council ultimately taking Auburn to court, alleging that the smell constituted a statutory nuisance.

Environmental Health officer Charlotte Adcock testified that the odour hit her as soon as she stepped out of her car.

“It was so omnipresent I wouldn’t be able to use my own garden,” she said, describing the smell as revolting, overpowering, and sickly sweet. “If I didn't have to do the visit, I would have got back in my car and left.”

Despite this testimony, the court ruled the evidence of statutory nuisance was insufficient to uphold a breach of the notice.

Following the ruling, Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC’s Portfolio Holder for Regulation and Enforcement, said: “We are very disappointed by the verdict. We served the abatement notice in 2017 on behalf of neighbours who complained for years about the smell from the foxes. Our officers acted according to the law and contacted Ms Auburn multiple times to address this.”

The judge acknowledged multiple breaches of the abatement notice but ruled Auburn had a defence of reasonable excuse, citing a lack of communication between her and EHDC.

An anonymous source was angry that Auburn “got off on a technicality,” noting that neighbours couldn’t open their windows or use their gardens for years.

“It’s been awful, and the council took six years to check. Imagine your dog rolling in fox faeces –now imagine dealing with that 24/7 for six years. It’s not just the faeces; the spraying was like teenage boys with Lynx. The smell was beyond words.”

Thanks to EHDC’s Planning Enforcement Team, the fox sanctuary was closed and dismantled in January after a planning inspector deemed it an inappropriate use of the site.