FOR the Stott family in Prestwich, there is no such thing as a good night's sleep, even with ear plugs.

Dad Gary works nights at a factory and tries to sleep during the day, while mum Nicky works shifts at Prestwich Hospital so she can juggle the childcare with her husband.

The couple's 10-year-old daughter, Charley, is up two or three times a night and baby Matthew, who is 10 months old, has his sleep disturbed at 5.30 every morning.

All their problems have been blamed on the Metrolink tram system, which runs just yards away from their home in Willow Road.

And the family suffer so badly from disrupted sleep patterns that their house has been shortlisted for the Noisiest House In Britain award by the Noise Abatement Society.

Mrs Stott (34) said: "My step-daughter will not even stay with us because of the noise. She is studying for her GCSEs and needs peace and quiet, but when she visits she says that everywhere she goes in the house, there is noise and she can't concentrate."

The Stotts moved into the house three years ago, believing they would get used to the racket. Mrs Stott comes from Glasgow and has lived with diesel trains as neighbours. She thought the Metrolink would be no competition but added: "Since we moved in, it seems to have gone noisier.

"My job is just a stone's throw away from where we live so we do not really want to move. It is just that with no sleep it makes us short tempered."

Mrs Stott said her son is woken every morning when the first tram goes past and her daughter is disturbed several times after she goes to bed at 8.30pm.

She added: "Gary works nights and has to try and sleep during the day.

"We have thick curtains up at the window, plus extra material to try and keep the noise out.

"We can't sleep with the window open in nice weather because of the noise from the trams. We go to bed with ear plugs!"

The family has written to Metrolink to complain about the noise and are close neighbours of Maria Fuller, who lives in Cedar Grove and is in a long-running battle with the company to upgrade the track.

The winners of the noisiest house title will win thousands of pounds worth of double-glazed windows and doors.

The director of the Noise Abatement Society, Mr Peter Wakeham, said: "I would not live where the Stotts live if you paid me. A million pounds would not get me to live there.

"Mrs Fuller's case is well publicised on our website and I really admire these people for putting up with it."