Internal loud intruder/ burglar Siren on party wall .

[oakleaffy]

My neighbours have an intruder alarm with a piercingly loud internal alarm meant to drive intruders out.
It goes off by itself.
The external alarm is triggered sometimes [always a false alarm] and switches off after 20 minutes, but the internal siren warbles screeches and ne-naws and whoops for hours or days until it is turned off.

It false alarmed yesterday, just the internal siren, and I phoned the number on the alarm, only for the installer to be extremely arrogant and said it was ''householder ignorance'' in how to set their alarm, and that there was nothing he could do, and that their alarm had been serviced so wasn't at fault.
He then said ''if you got on better with your neighbours, maybe they'd give you the key and the code toter it off!''
Then he said ''just go to the pub and have some fish and chips''
Basically being a douche.

Eventually the neighbour came home but still hasn't given me their contact number, and are away again [half term] .
I dread this happening again..it can be heard on the street, but is only a disturbance to me as the houses are [unfortunately] ajoined.

The alarm fitter bloke said internal sirens are not covered by any law as to ''restricting'' the time they sound for, and that it was basically ''tough''.

What can I do?

It is things like this that can so easily sour relations between neighbours.

The people that are friends of theirs who hold the key are also away [was told this by someone who knows]

Any constructive help much appreciated.

The siren is inside the house, and even the old suggested tricks like expanding foam won't work on the modern screech alarms.

{Believe me, I searched the net for solutions}
Maybe there IS a byelaw as so noise...if this was to go on for weeks,[when they go away in summer] I'd be out of my mind.

[oakleaffy]

Edit..Should read ''to turn it off''.

[scurryfunge]

It's still a noise nuisance so contact the council.

[BarbaraOcumbungles]

Tell them that if they don’t give you a key and the code the turn it off you’ll call the police every time it goes off and tell them you think they’re being burgled.

[johnd2]

Agree noise nuisance council environmental health.
If it's over a certain level they can confiscate the equipment and or hit them with a fine.
Unfortunately the level is a decibel level, so it doesn't distinguish how annoying the noise is.

[PigletJohn]

the police won't come unless you confirm that as well as the (false) burglar alarm you have seen other evidence such as a forced window or a person with a torch inside.

Even for a professional monitored alarm that professionally maintained, they stop coming after (I think its) two false activations in a year.

I believe that the vast amount of burglar alarms are false.

[Chickencellar]

What has the neighbour said about the alarm?

[oakleaffy]

Thanks for your advice [Just got home] AsJohn D says, the decibel level is what matters..That is what the security installer said..that from the street it won't be above a certain level [although is actually audible across the street]
In my house it is hugely audible in every room..literally no escape.

The neighbour was more concerned that they had been burgled compared to the annoyance it caused me!
She said she would give a ''contact number'' but hasn't.

Her husband is much more reasonable, he once gave me the fob in case it went off when they were away, enabling it to be turned off from outside.

Ideally it is him I need to speak to, he seems much more understanding.

The police won't do anything.. I checked online.

Why have an internal siren that carries on for days? It isn't as if intruders sit around making themselves meals..it is usually as quick in and out from what local crime stats say.

[oakleaffy]

Piglet John... agreed....most alarms are completely false. They were burgled twice before having an alarm when they had old unsecured windows hidden by thick bushes and had left top of the range laptops in the front downstairs room visible from their path..
The bushes were cut down, and new windows put in, and this blessed alarm that only gives false alarms.

[NotDavidTennant]

Council environmental health department are the only ones who have powers to act on noise nuisances. You need to lodge a complaint with them.

[Lucisky]

You can buy decibel monitors quite cheaply from amazon.
We had a noise problem some time ago, details are boring, but I kept a diary of the noise and a note of the decibels emitted. I then went to the council. They set up monitoring equipment, and the end result was that the noise maker was threatened with prosecution, so the noise stopped. Have a look online for what is considered acceptable noise - the details are all there. It took some time for all this to happen, but it was worth it for the peace we now have.

[wowfudge]

You can download free apps too.

[johnd2]

Just to be clear, it's the decibel level in your house that matters, not out in the street.

[Ariela]

I'd approach him and tactfully ask if he is aware it seems to go off quite often when they are out, and ask if he'd like you to check the outside is secure and re-set it, and ask if he can give you a fob and you'd be happy to do so because it is hellishly loud inside your house when it does go off