Noisy neighbour fined by courts

Tony Spriggens, 43, of Ropery Road, regularly played war and adventure games over the internet during the night.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard the games involved verbal interaction, and Spriggens would often raise his voice as he became more involved in the game.

A neighbour complained these outbursts led to disturbance and sleep deprivation.

Despite attempts by West Lindsey District Council officers to resolve the issue, the disturbances continued. In December Spriggens was served with a noise abatement notice, prohibiting him from allowing noise from his property to cause a nuisance .

But the court heard Spriggens ignored the notice and officers’ recommendations and continued with his behaviour.

Spriggens pleaded guilty to 11 charges of breaching of the abatement notice. He was also warned by magistrates that if he appeared before the court again on a similar matter he risked his equipment being seized.

He was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs of £200 and a £20 victim surcharge.

Coun Jessie Milne, chairman of the council’s licencing and regulatory committee, said: “This particular case is a great example of how we will help residents who are having problems with noisy neighbours and we would encourage people to report issues that are reoccurring over a sustained period of time.”

“We would remind residents to be considerate of their neighbours, especially through the summer when windows and doors are left open.”