Episode 1 Noise Squad

All over the UK, millions of people just like you and me

are being driven up the wall by anti-social nuisance noise.

When I go to work I always feel stressed,

I feel...I always feel angry at work.

It really is stressful and irritating,

and it makes you feel really frustrated.

Persistent parties...

aggravating alarms...

and banging builders.

They're keeping us awake, disturbing our peace and quiet

and driving us to despair.

I just feel very cross and angry and upset at the moment.

When you wake me up in the middle of the night at three o'clock,

that's when I have to get in your face.

But the fightback is on!

We're getting complaints about the noise.

Across the country dedicated enforcement teams are

getting to grips with nuisance noise 24/7.

If you then do the same thing, you will commit an offence.

The people who make the noise, if it is an issue, might

want to know why we're there, feel justified in what they were doing.

They may feel that they're being antagonised.

Enough is enough. It's time to put an end to nuisance noise.

A good outcome in this case would be first to seize the equipment.

It's time to meet the no-nonsense Noise Squad.

Cracking down on nuisance noise today...

We're on the night shift

in Westminster with Noise Officer George Christian, tackling a party

that's keeping neighbours awake until five in the morning.

What you're doing is selfish and unacceptable.

Make sure that music doesn't go on again.

In York, we join officers on the day shift as they take action

against a persistent offender who refuses to pipe down.

HE SHOUTS

If there's sufficient evidence to show that a nuisance has been

caused last night, then I'll go to court and get a warrant to

enter his property and seize the noise making equipment.

And an unusual problem has led this couple to the end of their tether.

Well, we've had to put it up for sale because, you know,

we can't get anybody to understand what it's like.

It's driving us away.

One of the biggest complaints to most noise teams across the UK

are about problems with noisy neighbours.

It can be like hell, like a war zone.

My partner vocalises her anger in a more obvious way than I do.

A few year ago, people had respect for people's sleep time and that.

Now it seems to be right through the night into the early hours.

Whether it be banging doors,

shouting or loud music, being disturbed in our own homes

drives tens of thousands of us to despair every year.

Persistent noise can literally drive you mental.

I kept asking them to stop it, but it was just happening over and over.

Driving me insane, basically.

As the busiest noise squad in the country, the Westminster team

are used to dealing with neighbours who turn the volume up too loud.

And they're on hand 24/7 to deal with any problems.

I'm from Westminster City Council Noise Team.

I'm George, from the Noise Team.

Hello?

It's the Noise Team from Westminster City Council.

George Christian has worked for the council's Noise Team for three years.

Tonight he's on shift with his colleague Kevin.

So what is the situation like at the moment?

See the light? Think there's a fire alarm.

The lads are on their way to investigate a complaint

that's been called in about a noisy neighbour.

It's a lady saying that she's basically fed up of the music

that her neighbour's playing, she's saying it's going on now.

George and Kevin head inside.

The lady doesn't want to be on camera,

but is keen to tell the lads what's been going on.

How many times have you complained to us?

-I think more than 20.

-More than 20.

Because we're on the road, we don't have access to all the history.

Did you say somebody served a notice?

-I think so. You'll have to ask Richard.

-Richard.

It seems as though these noise makers could be repeat offenders.

The complainant says that another member of the noise team has

visited previously and served a notice on the neighbours.

They have a legal obligation to quieten down.

If they're still making noise, they could be taken to court and fined.

Two days ago they had a party till four o'clock.

I didn't complain cos they put the letter.

They didn't tell you when they were going to stop?

-No, they didn't say when they were going to stop.

-That's a nuisance.

This lady says she's not the only one being affected.

Apparently, her children are too scared to sleep in their own beds.

So, the noise is frightening them?

It was quarter past ten, they didn't want to sleep.

They thought somebody was knocking on the walls.

George heads downstairs,

and the booming bass can clearly be heard and felt.

MUFFLED MUSIC

The fireplace is vibrating.

Having witnessed the noise and decided it's a nuisance,

it's time to act.

We need to speak to them right now, yeah?

George knocks on the door.

And it doesn't take long for someone to answer.

Are you the tenant? Could you turn that down, please?

That music is far too loud. You need to let people sleep.

So I'm asking you not to repeat what you've just done.

The noise maker is apparently throwing a birthday bash

for his sister in his mother's home.

But mum's the word. Apparently she's not here.

If we get another call, we'll take things further. You may hear from us again.

If there's any notices served previously there could be a problem.

Bye for now.

Having got the music turned down and explained

the potential seriousness of the situation, George heads off.

They said that they weren't aware of

any previous paperwork having been served.

I need to check the history of the address to find out

if that is actually true.

If there is paperwork that's been served and particularly

if it's been served within the last 12 months, we may well be taking

the occupier of this flat to court for breach of the abatement notice.

Noise Officers are part of each council's

Environmental Health Department and they have more powers

than the police when it comes to dealing with nuisance noise.

So if you've got a problem, don't call the cops,

pick up the phone and speak to your local council.

It's a busy night and George has another call to deal with.

It's midnight and in this quiet mews, the peace and quiet is being

shattered by the constant ringing from inside one of the houses.

It's not clear why the alarm has gone off.

There doesn't seem to be anybody at home.

The owners or occupiers probably have gone on holiday.

With no sign of the home owners,

Kevin serves a noise abatement notice.

If the alarm isn't stopped the team could break in and turn it off.

But to do that they need to have served the notice first.

With years of experience on the job,

this case is ringing alarm bells for George.

He's concerned it could be a fire alarm.

I've informed the Fire Brigade, so they'll make sure

there isn't anything sinister going on inside.

Something could be smouldering away in there, and if that's so,

they'll detect it. So our job is done,

but we need to make sure that that notice is complied with,

so there will be some follow-up.

And follow-up there was.

The next day, George's colleagues tracked down a keyholder

and the alarm was switched off.

It's a busy night for George and Kevin.

We'll be back with them shortly as they deal with

some rowdy revellers keeping people awake with some alfresco singing.

I've heard worse, but it's obviously disturbing somebody.

And they're called back to the lady who complained

about a party in her neighbours' flat.

It's keeping her awake until almost dawn

and she's at the end of her tether.

I don't know what to do with those people any more. I'm tired.

Every month, the York Noise Squad deal with around 200 complaints

about anti-social nuisance noise.

Noise can be a statutory nuisance any time of day.

The assessment was the noise from here was too loud at that time.

-We've had complaints.

-That it's a bit noisy.

-Not a bit noisy, excessively noisy.

Most are dealt with with verbal and written warnings

and abatement notices.

We're going to send you a warning letter out

and so hopefully we won't get any more complaints.

When there's a serious problem and a noise maker just won't put a sock in it though,

officers have the power to seize noisy possessions.

We're here regarding breach of an abatement notice, so...

-Breach of what?

-An abatement notice. We're here to seize some equipment

because an offence was committed over the weekend.

Today, Craig Delorenzo of the York noise team has received

a complaint about a persistent nuisance noisemaker.

I can be there in two minutes.

All right, see you then. Thanks. Bye.

This morning we received a message from

a complainant who has called a number of times before.

They've complained about loud music and singing from the neighbour,

and also there's a lot of anti-social behaviour going on with this.

Myself and my colleague have already witnessed a statutory nuisance

and because of that, we've served an abatement notice

ordering the neighbour to not cause a nuisance.

The complainant said that they were kept up all night by his loud music

and we could actually hear the noise on

the answer machine, so for that to happen it must have been very noisy.

Normally we can't pick up that sort of noise.

Craig and one of his colleagues served this noise maker with

an abatement notice about three weeks ago.

If it's being breached he can take further action

to quieten things down.

Today I'm going to go and take a statement from the complainant

with a view that if there's sufficient evidence to show

that a nuisance has been caused last night, I'll go to court

and get a warrant to enter his property and seize

noise making equipment, so take his stereos and anything else that

I feel caused the offence during the early hours of this morning.

Craig heads off.

The complainant's home is just around the corner

and when he arrives, he heads inside to take a statement.

The noise maker, meanwhile, pops his head out to say hello.

HE SHOUTS

Now it could be me, but I suspect this gent has had a sherry or two.

BLEEP.

A short while later, Craig comes back out with an update.

So I've just taken a statement from the complainant in regards

to the incidents last night.

Pretty much disturbed until six o'clock in the morning

from midnight, so quite a serious noise incident last night.

So I'll go back and report that to my manager

with a view to go to the court and get a warrant.

As Craig heads back to the office, the complainant has come out

to tell him the music is back on, so he heads back to the property.

MUSIC PLAYS

Once inside, Craig hears the noise maker play the same song

not once, not twice, but three times.

Having witnessed a breach of the abatement notice,

Craig will add his evidence when he applies for a warrant to

seize possessions that the noise maker could have been using to

make the nuisance noise.

Back at base, he's putting together the paperwork.

I've just created the required documentation to get a warrant

to enter the property that I went to see earlier, for the noise nuisance.

What this warrant will allow us to do

is enter into the perpetrator's property

and seize stereos, should the magistrates decide to grant it.

Once we've got the warrant and we're executing it,

we will call the police for back up because there is

a potential for the perpetrator to be agitated and kick off today.

Before Craig meets a magistrate to try and get a warrant,

he has to get the application signed off by the head of service.

I've witnessed a breach of his abatement notice as well.

Mike's not here, Anne's not here. So I want to go and get a warrant.

So I've just had a chat with the head of service

about the warrant and things, and he's approved it for seizure,

so I'll just be getting on with that for the rest of the afternoon.

Seizing possessions is a big step and the team only use it

as a last resort when people refuse to pipe down.

In this case, the noise maker has received plenty of warnings.

I have visited him before and discussed the noise complaints

and he was very civil with me and said that he would address

the problems and seemed to take it on board.

But since then we've had problems, late at night, where he's had

no respect for neighbours and played music until the early hours.

Later that afternoon, with the paperwork complete,

Craig heads off to apply for a warrant.

A good outcome in this case would be for us to seize the equipment

and for the perpetrator to consider that this is causing someone

a real problem and take action to prevent it from happening again.

In the short term, we hope to resolve the noise problem,

but in the long term we want them to take responsibility for it.

This is the moment of truth for Craig.

He's got strong evidence to get the warrant he needs to seize

the equipment the noise maker could be using to make the nuisance noise.

But if the magistrate disagrees, it's back to the drawing board

and he'll have to gather more evidence.

This is usually a quick job,

but over an hour later there's no sign of Craig.

After almost an hour and a half, he emerges with the verdict.

The message hadn't got through that we needed

to come and get the warrant, so they had to fit us in towards

the end of their court day today, so that's why it took so long.

But they were quite happy with the evidence that

I presented towards them and they gave the warrant completely.

Craig might have the warrant,

but he still has to seize the noisy possessions and we'll be

with him and the police as they go to knock on the noise maker's door.

If you're in there, we've got a warrant to enter the property.

So we'll come in if you don't answer the door.

In Westminster, noise enforcement officer George Christian

and his colleague Kevin are on their way to investigate a complaint

about noisy neighbours, and when they arrive, the problem is easy to hear.

LOUD SINGING: "Flower Of Scotland"

Right, it's two o'clock on a Monday morning and we've had

a complaint about a loud party at this address right in front of me.

So I'm arriving now. I can see two windows open on the second floor,

and what sounds like some traditional Scottish singing.

I've heard worse, but it's obviously disturbing somebody.

I think he's being kind.

I don't think Rod Stewart has too much to worry about.

-Hello?

-Yeah, hello, it's the noise team from Westminster City Council.

-Yeah?

-Could we have a word?

-Erm, possibly.

-Thank you.

George has got the attention of these a capella artists.

But despite asking them to come down for a chat, he and Kevin wait...

and wait...

and wait.

Perhaps these performers have got stage fright.

They've all gone really shy all of a sudden.

After a while, someone comes down to face the music.

Hello there. I'm from Westminster City Council.

We've had complaints from some of the residents about the

little party you're having up there.

Has it not occurred to you that it might be disturbing anybody?

Well, if it is they can tell us.

Well, it's two in the morning. Is it right that they should have to come and ring the bell

cos you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing anyway?

Well, that's up to them.

I think it's fair to say that this gentlemen isn't taking

criticism of his performance too well.

Are you the resident?

-There are a number of residents.

-Could you get them all down here then, please?

-No.

Not only does this singer refuse to get the rest of the band down for a chat,

he's not being particularly co-operative full stop.

Can I just take your name?

No, I'm not prepared to give my name.

And he has question...

OK, this notice is with immediate effect.

-What does it require?

-Just that you abate the nuisance.

..after question...

-What nuisance?

-The nuisance I've just described to you,

the loud music and singing with the windows wide open.

..after question.

-What's the period of the notice?

-It lasts indefinitely.

What, so, for 100 years?

Well, yeah, in theory. Although we won't be pursuing you in 100 years.

-Yes, I'll be dead by then.

-Yeah.

What the notice does, it puts a prohibition on you

so it prohibits you from causing any further nuisance.

So there's no offence as yet. But if you then go upstairs

and do the same thing, you will be committing an offence.

-All right?

-If you say so.

I do say so.

George is being patient but he's a busy man

and has other calls to attend to and needs to get on. Time to take action.

Right, so that's the notice served on you now.

Thank you very much.

Message delivered, let's hope it was understood.

Right, I'll leave you to digest that, OK. Thank you.

Different councils deal with nuisance noise in different ways.

Here in Westminster, having witnessed a problem,

George has served this noise maker with an abatement notice.

This gives them a legal requirement to quieten down.

If they don't and George and his colleagues witness

any further problems, they can be taken to court and fined.

It might not seem like the most serious case of nuisance noise,

but if you were trying to get to sleep in the early hours

it would be pretty annoying.

And this sing-along could prove pretty costly

if there's a repeat performance.

If he ignores the notice and if he plays loud music or does

anything of that sort of nature again, what will happen is

he'll be guilty of an offence so we can then prosecute him.

A firm word was all that was needed to quieten the late night sing-along,

but things are about to get more serious.

We'll be with George and Kevin

as they're called back to the lady they visited earlier.

The music she complained about is back on and she's at her wits' end.

It's five o'clock in the morning and I'm still up.

Three times I've put the kids up and down from their bed.

And in York, the team go to seize the noisy equipment

of a persistent nuisance noise maker.

Can you come to the door, please? It's the Council.

In York, Michael from the council's noise enforcement team is

on his way to investigate a bit of an unusual case.

We've had a complaint in about wind chimes which are apparently

causing nuisance to people. They are metallic chimes,

so it could be the wind whistling through and being very loud.

We have to go down and see whether there's any

legal action we can take in regard to a statutory nuisance.

It's hard to know what we're going to go into with this one,

because although it's people arguing about each other's actions,

what you've really got to consider is that the people

who are making the noise, if it is an issue, might want to know

why we're there, feel that they're justified in what they were doing.

They may feel that they're being antagonised themselves.

When he arrives on site, Michael heads in to see the couple

who called to make the complaint and explains what he needs to do.

Hiya. I'll make an assessment in here and outside,

and have a sit and a listen and make a few notes.

Noise can be a nuisance at any time of the day

and it's not just the decibel level that's important.

WIND CHIMES TINKLE

Anything that's out of the ordinary, and in the officer's opinion

could prevent someone from enjoying their home, can be a nuisance.

Wind chimes might not seem like the most likely cause of nuisance noise

but it's clear that this couple are more than a bit

fed up of listening to them.

Well, we've had to put it up for sale

because we can't get anybody to understand what it's like.

It's driving us away.

We've been in here when it's really warm because it's so annoying.

We've had to have windows closed. It's been really hot in here.

It's just beyond a joke. It's really stressing us both out.

And that noise, constantly. I have tinnitus,

so that noise is annoying to me.

More so cos my ears are more sensitive.

We go out all the time. We're going out now.

We're going away for a fortnight because we've got to get away.

We wouldn't be going away, but we have to,

cos it's driving us insane.

It is, honest. You've got to see it.

It's all right people saying,

"Oh, it's not bad, is that," but you've got to live it to see it.

This is an unusual case for Michael and he's being very thorough

before deciding whether or not the wind chimes could be nuisance.

This is the first time I've had anything like this.

Often it's just either one. Really, really unjustified,

or a clear statutory nuisance or something like that,

but this one isn't so clear cut.

Is it reasonable for people to do what they're doing,

to have wind chimes up? Yeah, maybe during the day.

But is it reasonable for somebody to enjoy their property? Yes.

Would this disturb that reasonable enjoyment?

That's what I'm trying to assess.

Whilst Michael's in the garden, the homeowners go out to join him.

It's louder that you'd expect. The metal's resonating in the garden.

It's difficult to say. It's...

It may just be out of being a statutory nuisance,

but it is annoying.

You don't want to hear it and you can hear it.

Having monitored the wind chimes from outside,

Michael heads inside to have a listen in the lounge.

Are these windows you normally have open, or...?

-Well, we...

-We normally have them all open.

It's so warm, we could have these open and those open, you know...

Could you open another window, please? It's very hot.

Michael's asked for another window to be opened.

He has to judge if the wind chimes would reasonably stop

the homeowners from enjoying their property.

As it's a warm day, it's reasonable for them to have their windows open.

If it's blowing a gale, you can understand

how noisy that would be. It'll never stop.

Now it stops cos the wind's stopped, you know.

He also wants to listen with the TV switched on.

Having finished his monitoring, Michael has reached

a decision about what action to take next.

What I'm hearing has potential, I think,

because it's audible inside here. It's very clear.

Do you want to be hearing that? No.

Is it annoying, is it a nuisance? I need to ascertain that.

You're saying it's worse on windy days.

That's something we need to witness as well.

I'll go and speak to them now, and then we may need to make a further assessment.

If we make a further assessment, it would be to see if it's a statutory nuisance or not.

Particularly on a windier day.

The York Noise Squad have already written to

the owner of the wind chimes explaining that they've received

a complaint and would monitor them over a four month period.

Well, Michael's monitored them today and now it's time for a word.

-Hi, Michael from the Environmental Protection Unit.

-Right.

But it's not going to be a quick one.

I've made the assessment today. It's been quite loud and obtrusive in the house,

therefore it may be something which could be a statutory nuisance.

So I'm going to ask you to take them down, basically,

because if we get called out again, we would then have to serve

an abatement notice on you and if we serve an abatement notice on you

and that's breached, it would then become a criminal offence.

That's in four months' time, of course.

No, no, that can be at any time. Once we've sent you the letter,

-and you've received that and you understand...

-But the assessment's done over four months.

No, the letter states that we may assess you over a period of four months.

That can be at any time during those four months. We've made an assessment today.

There seems to be a little confusion about the letter this gentlemen's received

but Michael's explained the position very clearly,

so problem solved, right? Not exactly.

How do you assess the noise from the wind chimes?

We'll sit in the person's property, we'll make an assessment from there.

-It's not registered on any meter, or...

-No, it doesn't have to be.

No, so that car going past is noisier than my wind chimes.

The motorbike that went past earlier was a lot noisier.

How do you assess that that's noisier than machinery?

It doesn't need to be noisy, just something which is a nuisance.

It could be noise,

it could be something which is constantly going on.

-This has been constantly blowing for 50 minutes.

-Only while the wind's blowing, not mechanical.

Yes, and that's the issue.

The gentleman's question is a reasonable one, and he tells Michael

he's spent quite a lot of money on the wind chimes and isn't

going to take them down without an abatement notice being served.

All I want from the Council is a written report that says it

exceeds the noise requirements, then I will use the council's

report to go to the County Court and seek a judgement to claim back

the money I've paid for them, cos there's no warning

on any packaging to say that these breach any noise abatement rules.

I'm not just going to put them in the drawer.

Whatever this gent wants to do in the future to try

and get his money back is up to him. The fact is the wind chimes

are a potential noise nuisance

and sooner or later they're going to have to come down.

That was interesting. Wind chimes are normally quite relaxing

except these ones are going into somebody else's property,

into their lounge, in their kitchen and you can hear it over the TV.

Over time, that's going to be a nuisance.

I can see the other people's perspective,

that they've put up wind chimes. But they may be a statutory nuisance.

He's refusing to take it down, but only until he gets the notice.

Once he gets the notice, that might change things

and then you take it from there, really.

Since Michael's visit, the owners of the wind chimes have agreed

to take them down, and this case is closed.

In Westminster, George Christian

and his colleague Kevin are working a busy nightshift.

They're responding to a complaint

about a noisy birthday bash that they were called out to earlier in the night.

George thinks an abatement notice has been served on the property,

but he can't be sure.

We've not managed to get back into the office to check

the history of this particular address.

So I don't actually know if any previous notices have been served

or what the full situation is.

First they go to the visit the lady who's called them back.

She's had a very long night.

It's five o'clock in the morning and I'm still up.

Three times I've put the kids up and down from the bed.

I don't know what to do with those people any more. I really am tired.

It's five o'clock in the morning.

OK, I'll speak to them again.

Like I say, I think there's been a notice served.

If there hasn't, they will get one but if there is a notice served...

Every time somebody's come here, they say a notice will be served,

it's not been served.

Well, if it's been served they've got a problem.

They're going to wake up in a minute! What can I do all day, now?

OK, well, leave it with me and I'll speak to them again.

George heads out, and he's going to bring this anti-social behaviour

to a swift end.

When someone comes to the door, they tell George the party host is

no longer here, and is nowhere to be seen.

But that's not going to stop him bringing this party to an end.

It's five o'clock in the morning, right?

What you're doing is selfish and unacceptable.

George wants this music to stop.

Common sense should tell you, if I knock on your door before midnight

to tell you the music is too loud, it must not get to that level again.

Make sure that music doesn't go on again.

The person I spoke to, actually, before midnight,

is no longer on the premises and I've been told

that there was a family emergency and he had to attend to it.

Whether that's the case or not, I don't know.

But I've told them to turn the music off.

I will check the history and

if there is any previous notices served we'll be taking

further action and the premises may also be

subject to a seizure of equipment.

Once back in the office, George wastes no time checking the records

for any history of complaints about loud music

coming from this basement flat.

It does appear that there is a Section 80 Noise Abatement Notice

in force that was actually served in September 2010.

There is an offence there.

So we will be looking to put a prosecution file

together for that and send that to our legal team.

It's quite serious potentially, and it could result in a court summons.

It's been a busy shift for the lads

and George is looking forward to a well-earned rest.

It's been a productive shift, we've covered a lot of ground,

been to a lot of places and heard a lot of noise,

and it's all been dealt with.

I'm feeling absolutely knackered right now.

It's been a busy bank-holiday weekend shift

and I really do feel like I just need to sleep.

If you could conjure up a bed right now, I'd fall into it happily.

A few weeks later, George is on the dayshift and he's heading out

to follow up on the case of the noisy basement neighbours.

We did serve a noise abatement notice some time ago,

and I want to know if she acknowledges that.

If she doesn't, I can always serve her with one

here and now, just so that she's aware of her responsibilities.

The original abatement notice was served on

the owner/occupier of the flat in September 2010 as there was

no-one in when an officer went to serve it.

Because of a legal problem the council aren't in a position

to prosecute yet, so George is going to serve this notice in person

on the mother of the guy who was having the party.

Frustratingly there's no-one in.

No, nobody home.

Whilst he's here though George decides to check in with

the complainant to see if there's been any more problems.

Just wondered how things have been since last time I came.

There was only two times, music.

Twice. You've called us. Did you call us? OK.

Do you ever see a lady there? An older lady? She's...

There's no-one.

I'm not sure if they're living all together, cos they come and go.

-The father and the mother.

-If you have a problem make sure you phone.

As long as we know there's a problem, we'll try to deal with it.

We won't let it rest, anyway. OK? Have a good evening. Bye, now.

This is a tricky case, but George doesn't give in easily.

Second visit this weekend to try and track down the person that

I believe to be the occupier.

Once again, she's not there. So I'll keep calling there.

I'd quite like to serve her personally with a

noise abatement notice, so if there's any further problems

there's no get-out clause for her at all.

Since George's visit, a noise abatement notice has been

served on the woman who lives in the flat.

If there are any more problems with nuisance noise at this

property the occupiers will be looking at a date in court,

a fine and the possible seizure of any noise making equipment.

In York, Craig Delorenzo of the council's noise squad has got

a warrant to seize the possessions of a persistent nuisance noise maker,

who just won't keep it down.

MUSIC PLAYS

Despite numerous warnings, he's playing his music too loud

and it's disturbing his neighbours.

So, armed with a warrant, Craig's about to head off to seize

anything that could make the nuisance noise.

It's a bit of a quick turnaround today.

We've witnessed the noise, gone to get a warrant,

and we're executing the warrant all in one day.

So it's a bit quick resolution today, but hopefully a good one.

He sets off from Noise Squad HQ to meet some of his colleagues

who will help him with the seizure.

It looks like everyone else has already arrived,

so I'll just go and speak with them.

The police will also be giving the team some back up to make sure

that things don't get out of hand.

-Have you done one of these before?

-Yes.

So we've got a warrant and we're just going to see if he's in,

and if not, we've got some keys here to let ourselves in.

With everyone ready for action it's time to knock on

the noise maker's door.

If he's not in, the team have a warrant which gives them

the power to enter the property.

But before they do that, they want to make sure they've done

everything possible to find out whether or not he's at home.

If you're in, can you come to the door, please? It's the council.

We've got a warrant to enter the property.

We'll come in if you don't answer the door.

With no response and no sign of the noise maker,

Craig and the team decide to enter the premises. But there's a problem.

There's a key in the other side of the door.

Time for plan B.

We'll go round the back. He might have another key for that.

So he's not answered the door so what we've got is a key to

enter the property round the back.

The front door's got a key in it, so we can't get in that way.

And the bad news is they can't get through this door either,

which would give them access to the back of the cottage.

I'm not sure we can get in that way.

Craig's determined to deal with this noise maker though.

It doesn't take him long to get hold of the key he needs to get into the rear courtyard,

where the team will be able to enter the property through the back door.

That's all right, we've got a key now.

Success.

The team move in but they're still not sure

whether or not the noise maker's at home, so the police go in with them.

Our camera isn't allowed on to the property.

But a short while later the team emerge

and they've seized anything that could be used to play loud music.

We've got the equipment which could have been used in the offence

so hopefully it doesn't cause any problems in the future

and we don't have any further noise abatement notice breaches.

-Thanks a lot.

-Bye!

It's been a whirlwind day, for the York Noise Squad.

Craig visited the complainant this morning

and now just a few hours later, the team have completed the seizure.

We've got in really easily, we've come out without any drama.

We've seized the CD player, the TV, things which

may have been used in the offence and hopefully

that'll bring quietness for the people who complained,

and obviously it's a consequence to somebody's actions.

It's easier if the perpetrator's not in

when we go round to seize the equipment.

There's less argy bargy about us taking the equipment

and it lets us just get on and do our job.

Back at base, Craig reports to his boss.

So we took a CD player, a CD and his TV.

OK, good work.

And reflects on a job well done.

The complainant briefly saw me just as I was leaving

and really appreciative of our work. So that's given me

a bit of a sense of achievement today and I'll go home happy.

Nice one, Craig.

It's been a busy day, but thanks to some decisive action hopefully the

noise maker's neighbours can now look forward to a bit of peace and quiet.

It's been a busy shift for the noise squad.

We've got a warrant to enter the property!

We'll come in if you don't answer the door.

They've dealt with everything from noisy neighbours...

We've seized the CD player, the TV, things that

we believe have been used in the offence.

Hopefully, that will bring some quietness

for the people who've complained,

and it's the consequence to somebody's actions.

..to rowdy revellers.

That music's far too loud. Make sure that music doesn't go on again.

And a neighbourly dispute about wind chimes.

It's driving us insane. It is, honest. You've got to see it.

It's all right people coming and saying, "Oh, it's not bad,"

but you've got to live it to see it.

There's no let-up in the battle against anti-social nuisance noise,

and plenty more cases still to be dealt with by the Noise Squad.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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