To seriously lose it with this noisy neighbour?

[Marmitetoasties]

Bit of backstory-we have lived here for around a decade and the drunk next door (semi detached) is basically a pain in the arse. Can't sit in the garden as he's always out there smoking with friends drunk, can't go or sit outside without being letched at or told to fuck off for no reason. The biggest issue, is him playing music at ridiculous levels through the wall, shaking the whole house. We've tried every authority we can think of but never get anywhere with complaints and he is unapproachable.

Today marks three days until I've got to hand in my massive MA thesis. I've just printed it out, and sat down to meticulously scan for error, and he's started the music up. The on day I can't leave home to work, or buy earplugs as shops are shut and no car.

I don't know what to do. I want to go round and smash the stereo with a cricket bat. Not now. I've come too far with this MA. AIBU to go round and off? He's had enough chances, and I don't know what else to

Have you tried to record it and video the wobbling glasses etc and then present it to the police/council/environmental health - maybe you need to do this a few times before they will listen - also the swearing and shouting in the garden

You should have sued him in tort a long time ago.

@BulletFox

Well that's not a bad thing. My only concern is if their bluff is called they're screwed! Still, worked out in the end.

Hope it went ok OP. I see there have been lots of other suggestiones here, possibly even a bit of a bunfight over knowledge of such things and some MN projecting (always a good read)....but none helps you now. It's Environmental Health (County/Unitary/Boro) that deals with this, but that's a long run deal.

The really good thing is that you are at the proof-reading stage with 3 days to go. Directing the rage would be helpful but if it's not something that you want to do, don't. Take yourself to a coffee shop, park, quiet elsewhere and proofread your Essay; if you can't right now, don't.

Up and early tomorrow you can. I'm sure your Essay will be great.

mummymeister - very welcome, it's nice to see some accurate information in threads like these.

I'll fess up and admit to posters how I know this -

I'm a former mobile DJ and I still have all of my equipment, it's set up in the front facing spare room and it's a seriously, seriously LOUD setup. 15,000 watts to be precise, and if I hook the other side of it up it's almost doubled (almost). I live in a semi, and never even use the system (I kept it mainly for nostalgia from my younger days, plus its resale value isn't very high)

One evening last year, last summer to be more accurate, I decided to fire it up and "blow the cobwebs off" etc. Now, it was fucking loud, I gave it an absolute pasting. But we were at about 7pm, maybe half passed, and I decided I wanted a cigarette. So I opened up the window because I didn't feel like going outside and it's the spare room anyway. Saw a police car outside my house. Didn't think much of it even though it's unusual up here (very rural).

Window wouldn't open fully (slight problem with it in that room) so I decided to go stand on the doorstep after all to smoke my cigarette.
Didn't lock the door behind me (obviously forgot)

Cue 7:50 and I turn around to see two coppers standing on my landing! "This is far too loud and you need to turn it off"

"WTF are you on about?"

"This sort of equipment belongs in a nightclub not a house, who is your landlord?"

"I own the place and it's not for you to decide who can own anything - so fuck off"

"Turn it off" (I'd turned it DOWN just so I could hear what they were saying)

"No, what law am I breaking?"

"You're breaching the Queens peace"

"The Queen doesn't live around here so do one"

"Do as you're told"

"Fuck you - YOU do as YOU'RE told, are you going to arrest me?"

"No"

"Well once again FUCK OFF"

"We came in because we assumed you were dead"

"Really? Why would you assume that when I know you saw me open the window?"

Cue silence.

Down the stairs they went. I also made a complaint against them and had it "honoured" as they had no reasonable suspicion that anything was amiss.

I'm going to bold the next sentence before people assume I'm an arse hole...

I ONLY fired it up because I knew for a fact my one and only neighbour was away on holiday so I was disturbing no one

I'm amazed you weren't arrested for speaking to plod like that aside from anything else tbh

Failing - just curiousity, but who called Bill, or were they just passing?

They said they were just passing.

It's not illegal to tell people to fuck off. It's also not illegal to insult people (PROVIDED you don't cross certain boundaries like sexism racism homophobia etc)

Telling a copper to fuck off (provided you don't cause a nuisance to anyone else whilst doing so) is fine.

And I'm not anti police, my old man was a copper, I just wont have them overstepping the mark in the same way I won't have someone who isn't a copper overstepping the mark.

Go round. Smash the stereo up. Then call the police saying you think there's a fight going on next door but now it's all gone really quiet and you're worried. Deny being anywhere other than in your home.

(Don't really do this. Just fantasize about it).

There is, sadly, little you can do except leave.

Since you say you've been in touch with all the authorities I assume your council's environmental health aren't prepared to do anything about it. As a long term solution, you could try approaching councilors to try to get them to ensure council environmental health is funded and expected to deal with statutory noise nuisance like this. Doesn't help today though. In some areas, community police might have a word, but they have no powers if your neighbour refuses so many just don't attend.

Maybe someone in the next town complained about the twat "blowing the cobwebs off " their old DJ system?

BMW6 if they had, then surely the police would have said that they'd received a complaint instead of that they were just passing?

OP - get yourself some bagpipe music. Or Max Bygraves "You're a pink toothbrush" on repeat.
Put it on with speakers facing their wall.
Go out for several hours.

Ring 101 and tell them that you are going round to your neihbours house with a cricket bat to smash up his stereo as no one cares and you've had enough. Then keep the operator on the line while you hammer on his door and scream at him. I can guarantee the police will come out to that.

BoomBoom
I was typing my post before I'd seen the twat update.
And I was being sarcastic.

Why is he a twat for liking loud noise occasionally when it doesn't disturb others and for not liking being harassed about it or having authorities try to intimidate him with false threats?

Not sure why I'm assuming Falling is male. Apologies.

I feel your pain. I have no useful advice because we moved to get away from the noisy fucker that backed onto our garden. (It wasn't just because of him - it was a shitty area and I wanted to move anyway). We started keeping a record of the disturbances, most memorably, his Elvis CD's on top volume in the garden on a Sunday night until 2am...with his incredibly shrill girlfriend cackling and singing along. DH wanted to turn the garden hose on them.

We never did anything with the list - as a PP said it could have caused us problems when we came to sell the house. But he's someone else's problem now, thank god.

Oops!

Book a hotel

Borrow multiple decent sound systems

Put Trolls theme tune on loudly on repeat

Put speakers against adjoining walls

Go to hotel for 3 days to complete your thesis.

Hope it goes well!

Marmite... Given you're under a dead line, and the music is blaring. I'd take the this best possible polite approach. Tap on door, explain your horrendous deadline, say you understand its bank holiday etc. But you really would appreciate them keeping the noise down whilst you get your work done.

Then next time it happens record, report etc

Thanks everyone! I went round to try and sort the situation out but upon seeing me knock (no chance he would have heard) he turned his stereo up (I assumed it couldn't go any louder..) and shut the curtains

I've taken refuge at a friends. For the person that said why is he twat, we'll see how you'd like it. He also does thinks like uses a bed pan (not elderly) and chucks it out onto his garden which shares a thin iron fence with ours.

Poor you, you have my sincere sympathy. Lived through similar.

When it got really bad I used to switch off their electricity as we all had access. They were too dim witted to ever figure out what had happen. Total morons.

Can you hole up at a friend's to proof your work today?

Poor you! Record, video, audio, note book. Log with council, 101. They'll remove his equipment, and if rented or council he'll get evicted. You have to record and log everything tho'

Good luck on your papers marmite

I was going to also say can you turn of his electric?

MArmite I wasn't referring to your neigbour - who clearly is a twat, I'm very sorry for what you're going through. I was talking about Falling, who refrained from loud noises when their neighbour was around waiting until they were away so they wouldn't be disturbed, which seems like the opposite of twattery to me.