Noise nuisance

If you are experiencing a noise nuisance from a burglar alarm

• Identify the premises on which the alarm is sounding if you can
• If it is on a neighbour's property, ask around and see if anyone knows where they might be
• Check to see if there is a number on the alarm box as sometimes the alarm company may have a service contract
• If the owner cannot be contacted and the alarm continues to sound after 20 minutes or on and off for an hour or more contact environmental health and we can investigate

Faulty burglar alarms can cause serious noise problems. If you have an alarm on your property, it is a good idea to follow this advice.

• Buy a good alarm and have it serviced regularly
• Make sure the alarm stops after 20 minutes and it doesn't start again
• Install the alarms per instructions, or if possible have a specialist install it for you
• Test the alarm form time to time
• Get keyholders who are able to silence the alarm and provide their details to the police

Remember that if you are relying on your neighbours to react to the alarm when it goes off, make sure you do not annoy them with too many false alarms.

Car alarms

If you are disturbed by a car alarm which has been repeatedly sounding then please contact environmental health.

A typical situation is where a vehicle has been in a residential road or car park and the owner is absent, perhaps for several days. Once the environmental health team have been made aware of the problem we will attempt to find the owner or driver of the vehicle to advise them of the situation. An officer will visit the site and assess whether the alarm is causing a statutory noise nuisance.

If the alarm is judged to be causing a statutory noise nuisance, the officer may silence the alarm or have the vehicle removed to a safe area. The owner will be charged for any costs incurred in stopping a nuisance.

We cannot take action against noise from car alarms in car parks (such as supermarkets) where each alarm only sounds for a few seconds.