A noisy neighbour has been ordered to pay nearly £2,000 by a court – for blasting out Elton John hits until 5am.
Jamie Smith, 44, made his neighbours’ lives a misery for two years with tracks including Candle in the Wind, which he often played non-stop for 18 hours.
He breached a noise abatement notice three times and has now been hauled into court and fined £1,000, ordered to pay £808 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge
His track list also included UB40, 1980s pop sensations Milli Vanilli, and gangsta rapper Eminem.
One neighbour at St George House in Bristol said: “None of us wanted to complain but something had to be done about it.
“He was just blasting it out. Sometimes he would put it on at 11pm and it would go through to 5am. It is stupidly loud.
“There has been a lot of problems with him and I can’t believe he is still here, to be honest.
“He is a triple-x nightmare neighbour he could not be any worse.”
Another said: “He has got a lifestyle that is opposite to peaceful.
“He is addicted to gangster rap and you hear Elton John, UB40 and Milli Vanilli.
“Sometimes he would play it for 18 hours and then sleep for six hours.
“The council warned him but even after that he let himself down.
“He has disrupted lives around here and I don’t think he has shown any remorse.”
Bristol City Council prosecuted Smith after continued complaints from neighbours about the noise coming from his flat.
Environmental Health Officers visited the block of flats several times to monitor the sound, which was at a level that amounted to a statutory nuisance.
After several warnings a notice was served under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
But the complaints continued and Smith appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court charged with three breaches of the noise abatement notice.
Thomas Ward, a pollution control officer, said: “We warned Mr Smith many times that he was in breach of the noise abatement notice and if he did again it would lead to court action.
“Neighbours have been very distressed at the unreasonable volume of music played day and night”.
Jonquil Maudlin, neighbourhood enforcement team manager, added: “We do all that we can to get people to behave considerately before taking them to court.
“Prosecution is a last resort but residents have the right to live without unreasonable noise from their neighbours.
“If people persist in making their neighbours’ lives difficult in this way we will take action.”
