Noisy neighbour who blasted out loud music ordered to pay more than £1,300 by court

A noisy neighbour who played loud music has been ordered to pay out more than £1,300 after he was taken to court.

Samuel Snowden, of Jerry Clay Lane, Wrenthorpe, was convicted of three offences at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court earlier this month after persistently playing the music late at night into the early hours and ignoring an official notice to stop.

Following complaints, the council served a formal abatement notice requiring Snowden to stop causing a noise nuisance.

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But this was ignored, and the noise only stopped when the council took enforcement action to confiscate his music equipment and followed it up with a decision to prosecute.

Jerry Clay Lane in Wrenthorpe.Jerry Clay Lane in Wrenthorpe.
Jerry Clay Lane in Wrenthorpe.

Evidence was gathered that included records made by the council’s night team, and by people directly affected.

The case was brought by Wakefield Council and the court fined him £320 and ordered him to pay £1,095 to cover the council’s investigation and legal costs, plus a victim surcharge of £34.

Coun Jack Hemingway, cabinet member for climate change and the environment, said: “We won’t tolerate this type of behaviour, as it can cause severe sleep disturbance, stress and anxiety for neighbours.

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“We want to be very clear - we will and do take court action when people won’t work with us to change unreasonable behaviour and would encourage anyone to report noise problems to us if their lives are being affected.”