LAST year St Helens Council received more than 700 complaints about noisy neighbours, with barking dogs the most common cause of the problem.

All complaints are dealt with by the council's Environmental Health Section using a defined procedure, but because domestic noise tends to be irregular and intermittent, it is difficult to have a council officer there at the right time to hear the noise.

Anyone suffering from a noisy neighbour can gather their own evidence and make complaints to the Magistrates Court. Advice on this can be obtained from the council, or from the Magistrates Court, a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau, although often the only answer is to discuss the problem and agree a solution with your neighbour.

Further advice is available from the council on St Helens 456338, or 456353.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.