MoD pay £42,000 -- for scaring chickens

The Ministry of Defence was ordered to pay a farmer £42,000… because their low-flying jets scared his chickens.

It was claimed by a Staffordshire farmer that the noise of Hercules and Tornado jets flying over his farm left his chickens petrified.

This, he added, meant they were unable to lay eggs and therefore lost value to him. He was awarded the payout in civil court ruling.

Other recent payouts include someone who suffered PTSD because of low-flying jets on exercise (£52k) and the owner of a racehorse which fatally injured itself after being spooked by the jets (£117k).

On hearing the odd news about the chicken payout, one soldier said: "No Yolk, really?"