THIS is the moment a nightmare neighbour blasted a foghorn to drown out pre-school children having fun in the playground.
The disgruntled resident lives close to Epiphany Pre-School in Bournemouth, Dorset.
He first put up a sign on the top of his garden fence backing on to the site which states “Respect our neighbours – keep the noise down”.
But he has since taken to playing the jarring siren sound several times this summer.
It is said the alarm sounded every morning and afternoon last week within one minute of the children going outside to play.
During the school’s recent sports and graduation day it played continuously for more than eight minutes.
The happy event was “ruined” by the din which left some of the children distressed.
The school said they are “disgusted” that the neighbour has resorted to such “intimidating” tactics.
They have reported the matter to BCP Council and its environmental health team are investigating the matter.
Jackie Hiscox, the manager of Epiphany Pre-School, said: “We had children crying because they thought it was a fire alarm.
“They didn’t know what was going on. I think it’s intimidating for the children to have this going on when all they are doing is playing.
“Some of our children live in flats and might not even have gardens.
“We had to explain to the children that some older people don’t like noise and then had one child say ‘we’re just playing’.”
The school added that they had moved their slide away from the house with the sign to try and reduce noise.
Video taken during the pre-school sports and graduation day shows the pupils and parents struggling to hear the teachers due to the noise of the alarm sounding.
Victoria, a parent of a child at the school, said: “Within ten minutes of the sports day, whoever lives there set this horn off.
We had children crying because they thought it was a fire alarm.
Jackie Hiscox
“The kids aren’t particularly loud and it’s such a shame. If you buy a house on the back of a pre-school, what are you expecting?”
Other local residents have taken to social media to criticise the neighbour.
Greg O’Connell said: “Why did the miserable sods move to a property close to a school?”
Louse Miller said: “Absolutely disgusting behaviour towards children.”
Gemma Smith and Sophie Wood were engaged in a weekly feud for a year over their wheelie bins.
When Gemma moved next door to Sophie, 34, who is unemployed, in November 2020 they were civil to one another.
Gemma, who is single and doesn’t work due to stress, says: “Sophie seemed nice and we’d stop and exchange pleasantries.
“But it all changed at the beginning of 2022, when Sophie’s bin was full and she put her rubbish bag in mine.
“I took it out and put it on top of her bin.
“It fell off, gulls pecked at it and there was rubbish everywhere.”
Both women refused to clear up the mess, claiming it was the other one’s fault.
Gemma says: “I felt so angry.
“There was cat litter spread all over my drive — it was absolutely disgusting and we ended up shouting at each other.
“We were both as bad as each other — we’d walk past each other and I’d tell her she was a lazy cow and to clean up after herself.
“We’d scream insults at each other.”
Within six months Sophie had set up a CCTV camera and threatened to report Gemma to the council.
In retaliation, Gemma set up the baby monitor — which can record video — to try to pin more wrongdoing on Sophie.
Then last July Sophie spotted Gemma in tears on her doorstep following a burglary at her home.
Gemma says: “Sophie came straight round and asked if there was anything she could do.
“We are now the best of friends and help each other out all the time.”
Helen Hargreaves said: “What a nasty thing to do to little children. I really hope they still managed to have a lovely day despite these horrible people trying to ruin it for them.”
The pre-school is in the grounds of a church and its playground is surrounded by residential properties.
One local resident said she was “horrified” that a neighbour would act purposefully to “upset young children”.
She said: “I am out at work during the day but to hear that this is happening is horrific.
“How horrible does a person have to be to try to upset kids, how sick can you get?”
Another resident, who said they had heard a siren sound during the week, slammed the neighbour for a “complete over reaction”.
A BCP Council spokesperson said: “Our team has been made aware of an issue over noise in this location, and we’re continuing to look into the complaint.”
If you’re having a problem with noise like loud music, noisy pubs, rowdy parties or barking dogs in your neighbourhood, your council can help you.
What you need to know
You can search for your local council to report a noise nuisance in England and Wales.
Your council has a duty to investigate any statutory nuisance.
Penalties
If the council decides someone is causing a statutory noise nuisance they must issue a ‘noise abatement’ order.
This tells the person what they must do to stop making a noise nuisance or else face further legal action.
