Horrible neighbours. Just need to vent!

crayola

I'm pretty sure there is nothing you can do about awful people that stand around in their front garden/on the pavement making noise, playing music and generally being low-life scum, but on the tiny possibility that I'm wrong, I'm writing this post.

The vile family who live opposite me conduct their life from the front garden. This includes barking down mobile phones, shouting (they don't appear to communicate by any other means) and posturing in a 'look at me' kind of way. They have between five and ten children who use the street as their playground, playing football in the road and screaming. They have a radio which is inside the house, but it is turned up loud enough that you can hear it in the road. They do not work, but have somehow managed to buy what looks like a £30,000+ car, which they spend a good quarter of every day polishing. You get the picture. To make matters worse the street is otherwise a quiet street, so the noise really travels.

I will readily admit that a lot of this is my own snobbery talking, but with the summer holidays in full swing the noise has now become as much of an issue as anything else, and I would like to not spend every day in a bad mood because of these idiots. I work from home and this is becoming a problem. I can't have the window open in the summer, and I have a hot flat so it's really uncomfortable and makes me resent them even more. :mad:

Is there ANYTHING I can do? I am obviously afraid to approach them as I suspect they are not very nice people, and unfortunately I have already given them filthy looks so they will probably know an anonymous note begging them to keep the noise down would be from me. The one thing I have done is spoken to one of the older children to tell her it would be nice if she could try and stop the little ones from screaming as people live and work here but she would not even meet my eye.

Just keen to hear how others have handled similar situations, really. I have little hope of being able to do much apart from pray that they get evicted.

maninthestreet

It doesn't suprise me to hear they are probably on benefits.

crayola

maninthestreet wrote: »

It doesn't suprise me to hear they are probably on benefits.

They will be yes, and it upsets me to see people abusing the system in this way. I am very strongly in favour of good benefits for people who need them, and I really do not think that this family are typical, but this just makes me even more cross. There ARE people out there who they are taking away from, and yet they have the cheek to flaunt it!

Nothing we can 'do' then? I suppose they haven't done anything wrong beyond annoying neighbours.

RAS

have you contacted Enviromental health re the noise?

crayola

RAS wrote: »

have you contacted Enviromental health re the noise?

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Not yet no, as I'm not sure it would be considered 'bad' enough to be an issue. I am now starting to think the radio may be considered anti-social though - that is a new thing. Before now it was just the barking down the phone and the god-awful shouting. But if that's enough of a case, I will!

PasturesNew

What about an anonymous drugs tip off?

hazyjo

There's a road near us which is like this. It's like a street party's going on every time I walk past the end of it. Deckchairs outside, tonnes of noisy kids tearing up and down, clothes, shoes, bikes, etc strewn across the place, radios perched on open windowsills... I'd hate to live there. The rest of the estate is extremely quiet so you notice it even more.

Really don't see that there's much you can do! It's just general daytime noise - they won't see that it's irritating to others. I'd hate to live next door to my sister and her kids! Nightmare! They are SO damn noisy. I can't bear noise. Absolutely does my head in.

Jx

Gandalfthegrey

They might not be on benefits, and what's wrong with children playing in the street? parents nowadays wrap their kids up in cotton wool and dont let them outside the garden, but years ago all choldren used to play out in the streets. Be realistic they arent going to play in silence, they are kids.
Yes, you dosound like a snob, sorry!

scarletjim

Yes but you're ignoring everything else that the OP says - kids do make noise, it's arguable how much is acceptable in public areas, however surely it's not arguable that adults shouldn't regularly be shouting or playing radios loud enough for the whole neighbourhood to hear?

Back to the OP:
Environmental Health Agency is there to help you, and when I called them a few times about a neighbour, on one time about 2am they promised to come round with sound recording equipment to cvertly gather evidence (typically, the party-goers left 5 minutes later, so I cancelled the EHA visit).

But it is very difficult - you are probably in the right, but is it worth getting your windows / car / face smashed for?

Gandalfthegrey

I could sypathise if OP said this family were threatining people, vandalising property, taking drugs, etc, but playing a radio during the day and talking loudly on the phone hardly makes them low life, vile, scum as the OP stated.
I really do not like snobs.

red_devil

the radio could be something to complain about. I wouldnt think there is anything you could do about the rest. It will get better in the winter when people arent outside so much. Its a case of live and let live me thinks.