A woman is “at the end of her tether” over a mystery alarm she claims she hears on Sundays and at night.
Sue Bowden, of Westfield Road, Runcorn, said she believes the alarm is emanating from somewhere within the large nearby industrial area but has been unable as yet to confirm the exact location.
Westfield Road is close to a large industrial zone in west Runcorn, located along Percival Lane and Picow Farm Lane.
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Having started over a year ago, the noise usually begins around noon or in the middle of the afternoon on Sundays and lasts until 3am, Sue claims.
Sue, 68, has lived in the neighbourhood for 48 years and she claims Halton Borough Council carried out noise monitoring her home.
She claims the local authority found no “unacceptable” noise levels. However, the Environment Agency, which was monitoring outdoors in the garden at the same time, did find the levels of noise constituted “unacceptable” levels.
Sue said her home has undergone a lot of improvements and she had been looking forward to enjoying her retirement but these hopes have been jeopardised by noise nuisance clawing away her quality of life.
She said the noises are “driving her mad”, claiming it “happens all the time”, adding she is “at the end of her tether”.
An environmental health officer (EHO) recently spoke to Sue on the phone and offered to meet her along with Cllr Victoria Begg.
Enquiries are also closing in on the source of the alarm with the council now having "witnessed the alarms in the industrial area".
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Sue said: "The noises are just getting me down now. I've lived here for 48 years and my garden is my sanctuary.
"I feel now I can no longer be out in the garden because the noises just get to me sometimes, and even sat in the house in the conservatory I can't sit and read a book and then I feel I have to go inside, put the television on as loud as possible to drown out the noises and I don't think that's right."
A council spokeswoman said: "The EHO has spoken to Mrs Bowden and they are discussing her using the monitor again.
"EH are also meeting with her to go through her concerns regarding the whole area again and specifically advise in relation to their findings on the previous monitoring exercise and how they came to their conclusions.
"In relation to the alarm complaint, the first contact was on October 10, then again on October 12 when EH began their investigations.
"Further incidents were reported on October 14, 16 and 22.
"Officers have witnessed the alarms in the industrial area, although have not ascertained whether it is a statutory nuisance in residential areas.
"The council is in discussions with the responsible parties who are currently co-operating with our requests..
"The council’s actions are ongoing in relation to this matter."
Anyone affected by noise problems in the area can email details of their experiences to oliver.clay@reachplc.com
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