Three falcons died and eggs were damaged after building work near a neighbouring aviary in Cornwall, sparking a legal dispute that has left former reality TV contestant Barnes Thomas facing a reported bill of around £500,000, as reported by The Independent.
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that → die → Independent
Thomas, who appeared on Bear Grylls’ survival programme The Island in 2018, was sued by falcon breeders Martin and Scott Nicholas, whose business operated beside his land.
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business → appear → land
One of the dead birds was valued at £150,000.
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One → value → 150,000
The Court of Appeal overturned the finding of private nuisance but upheld Thomas’s liability in negligence.
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Court → overturn → negligence
The dispute has since moved towards a potential Supreme Court appeal, with both sides challenging aspects of the ruling.
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sides → move → ruling
Why a former reality TV star’s move to Cornwall ended in a £500,000 legal battle
Thomas moved from dealing in art in London to farming near St Just, close to Land’s End.
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Thomas → end → End
The change of setting did not bring a quiet life.
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change → bring → life
His relationship with neighbours Martin Nicholas, 43, and Scott Nicholas, 45, deteriorated as disagreements developed over activities on his property.
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disagreements → deteriorate → property
The brothers ran Raptors of Penwith Ltd, a falcon-breeding business on adjoining land, where they raised gyr and peregrine falcons for sale to racing enthusiasts, including buyers in Dubai.
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they → run → Dubai
The disagreement eventually became a legal battle involving both the use of the land and the potential consequences for the birds kept next door.
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disagreement → become → birds
The brothers maintained that building work on Thomas’s property had exposed their falcons to excessive noise and visual disturbance during a particularly sensitive period.
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work → maintain → period
They also alleged that the activity had affected breeding, resulting in lost eggs and damage to eggs caused by distressed birds.
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activity → allege → birds
Their company brought claims for nuisance and negligence against Thomas and Upper Cot Estate Limited, his company.
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company → bring → Thomas
The High Court in Bristol heard the case over nine days in 2025.
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Court → hear → 2025
Judge Jonathan Russen KC found in favour of the falcon breeders, concluding that the conduct of Thomas and his company had caused the deaths of three gyr falcons.
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conduct → find → falcons
As reported by The Independent, the financial consequences were substantial: approximately £300,000 in compensation and interest, alongside more than £180,000 towards the breeders’ legal expenses.
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consequences → report → expenses
How construction work during breeding season disturbed the neighbouring falcons
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work → disturb → falcons
The court had to consider how that work was conducted and whether reasonable precautions had been taken to avoid disturbing the neighbouring birds.
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precautions → have → birds
According to the High Court judgment, Thomas had been told that the period from March to June was a time when excessive noise and visual disturbance should be avoided.
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noise → accord → June
Evidence included videos recorded inside the falcons’ incubation room while work was taking place in a barn.
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work → include → barn
The judge considered that material evidence of the effect the construction activity was having on the birds.
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activity → consider → birds
A particular incident involved a JCB digger bucket being left raised for three days close to the aviary.
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bucket → involve → aviary
The machine was positioned for an engineer’s inspection, but its location meant it obstructed the line of sight from at least some of the birds in the western pens.
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it → position → pens
Scott Nicholas said the falcons reacted strongly to the sight of the machinery, describing their response as becoming agitated at what appeared to them to be an unfamiliar object.
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what → say → them
The judge accepted that the activity had caused undue disturbance.
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activity → accept → disturbance
He found that the three birds had died as a result of stress associated with the nuisance and concluded that the work had been undertaken without proper consideration of the breeding operation next door.
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work → find → door
The legal argument over property rights and a neighbouring falcon business
Thomas challenged the ruling on the grounds that it placed an unreasonable restriction on how he could use his own property.
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he → challenge → property
His barrister, Tom Weekes KC, argued before the Court of Appeal in February 2026 that the construction of a barn and the storage of materials for Thomas’s scaffolding business were ordinary uses of land.
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construction → argue → land
The appeal raised a question about the extent to which one landowner should have to accommodate a neighbouring business that depends on particularly sensitive conditions.
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that → raise → conditions
Weekes argued that the falcon breeders’ activities should not effectively require Thomas to maintain a buffer zone on his own property to protect their birds.
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activities → argue → birds
The judges disagreed on the legal basis for liability
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judges → disagree → liability
The Court of Appeal dismissed Thomas’s appeal on negligence but allowed it on nuisance grounds, with each issue decided 2-1.
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issue → dismiss → grounds
Lady Justice Whipple found that Thomas and Upper Cot Estate Limited were liable for both nuisance and negligence.
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Thomas → find → nuisance
Lord Justice Nugee concluded that negligence had been established, while Lord Justice Moylan would have found neither form of liability.
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Moylan → conclude → liability
Lord Justice Nugee accepted that parking a digger on one’s own land was an ordinary activity.
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parking → accept → land
However, he considered the circumstances surrounding its placement to be decisive.
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circumstances → consider → placement
The machine did not have to be left next to the aviary, and even if that location had been necessary for the engineer’s visit, the bucket should not have been left raised.
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bucket → have → visit
His reasoning focused on whether Thomas and his company had acted with appropriate care.
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Thomas → focus → care
The judge considered that reasonable alternatives were available and that leaving the machinery in that position was unnecessary for the defendants’ purposes.
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leaving → consider → purposes
The failure to take reasonable steps to avoid inconvenience to the neighbouring business supported the finding of negligence.
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failure → take → negligence
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
