A Prestwich man who continued to cause noise nuisance to his neighbours has been fined and had his equipment permanently confiscated.
Lawrence Huller (aged 50) of Eastleigh Road pleaded guilty to numerous offences of failing to comply with a noise abatement notice served under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The council had first served Huller with an abatement notice in October 2019 following complaints about continual noise coming from loud televisions and amplified music. Huller continued to cause a disturbance and, on 13 October 2020, council officers seized his equipment for a 28-day period before Huller paid to have it returned.
The noise continued and, on 8 March 2021, the council seized 16 items including six large televisions. On this occasion the equipment was retained by the council and an application made to the courts to confiscate the equipment permanently.
Huller was fined £900 at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court and ordered to pay £1,400 costs and a £60 victim surcharge. Magistrates also granted the council a forfeiture order for all the items seized from Huller’s property on 8 March, valued at £3,500.
Councillor Alan Quinn, Bury Council’s cabinet member for the environment, climate change and operations, said: “Noisy neighbours make people’s lives a misery, and can cause serious health problems through lack of sleep and stress.
“This was a long and complicated investigation carried out during the height of the Covid epidemic, at a time when residents were under added stress due to lockdown.
“The council takes complaints of noise nuisance very seriously, and we will continue to take action against those who ignore the warnings and harass their neighbours.”
