A mum is at breaking point over her "sociopathic" neighbours' early morning antics.
The single mum-of-two is struggling after a series of personal losses in her family, dubbing her neighbours' behaviour a "journey of persecution" that has got her "literally breaking". She took to Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread to seek advice on how to "stop their sociopathic behaviour once and for all".
She penned: "This is an absolute b****** of a neighbour who has decided to embark on a journey of persecution that's gone on for years. Elderlyish couple, late 60s. They're like church mice during the day but at night, they slam cupboards, hammer, move pots about in the garden, [usually] at around 3, 4 or 5[am].
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"I've tried writing, polite requests, turning up at the door in my nightie. I have an inflammatory bladder condition that causes sleep deprivation already. They know about this, their daughter is a consultant urologist.
"Last night at 5 I just screamed through the walls, that they're sick b*******. Previously the only thing that has worked is me blasting out my music during the day. Then they stop for a few weeks. I don't go to the council as I've heard they don't do anything. Plus you need to record it. That's really hard as it's very sporadic and loud enough to wake you but not thumping like a heavy based sound system.
"I'm dealing with so much at the moment, death of my dad, death of my niece, single parenting two teens on my own, I'm literally breaking. How do I stop their sociopathic behaviour once and for all?"
The struggling mum's post was met with a string of responses from fellow Mumsnet users who offered their tips and advice. One said: "If the noise is having this much effect on you, then I'm surprised you haven't gone to the council. Just saying that you 'heard they won’t do anything' then not contacting them guarantees that nothing will get done because they don’t know about the problem. Find out what your council’s policy is on noise complaints and follow that. You might need to record it or make a noise diary but unless you’re prepared to take some action yourself, your neighbours aren’t going to magically stop being t****."
Another said: "Just be a little bit careful about reporting to the council if you own your home and think you might have to move because of this: neighbour disputes have to be declared. Sorry for your losses and that you're going through this."
A third commented: "Going the council route is hard work emotionally. Recording each time something annoys you really reinforces the problem for you. DATE, STARTS, FINISHES, DESCRIPTION OF THE NUISANCE, HOW IT AFFECTS ME. Every time. It gets depressing."
Another said: "They're clearly sleeping during the day so you HAVE to make noise so these ******* are trained to go to bed at a normal time. Think of it like non-cute puppy training..."
In a follow up comment, the mum replied: "Thank you for your replies. Yes one of the reasons I didn't go via the council or lawyers is because when it's logged as a noise dispute, makes both properties harder to sell. I'm definitely not living out the rest of my life in this awful place. But got to get through the next four or five years for the kids...."
Another user posted a response the mum described as the "most helpful", adding: "Do not at any cost go to the council about this. You will not sell your house and as you rightly pointed out they will do very little, if anything at all. I won't bore you with my story but there have been 114 police incidents, 7 families affected - all who have complained and had meetings with the council, and we are 3 years on and the council have taken no meaningful action.
"Try your very hardest to befriend the neighbours so that you can have a more meaningful conversation about how the noise affects you. Don't name call or respond in anger. Wait until you are calm and then speak to them. You might have to swallow your pride, but the consequences of doing anything else are just not worth it.
"The other option is to move, and I would seriously consider this. Neighbour dispute is dreadful and can (in my case) affect nearly every area of your life. Take care and good luck."
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