A Manchester mum who has been left struggling to sleep because of the sounds of her neighbours 'constantly' having sex has been told by the council that they won't do anything about it because it's a 'natural noise'.
The mum, who wishes to remain nameless, says that the noisy neighbour has been making her life a misery since March.
The woman next door, she claims, is causing problems for her and her young children - aged four, two, and one - with her loud sex and arguments at night.
She told the Manchester Evening News: "It's every night, it's terrible.
"Before lockdown, it wasn't really every night.
"Since lockdown it's worse."
She continued: "I think she lives alone but someone comes late every night.
"At first I thought 'it's going to stop, maybe she's got a new boyfriend and the novelty will wear off'.
"But it just never ended. We are in a three bed property, but I can't use the room next to her."
The mum claims that she'd tried talking to the neighbour through the window, and has also attempted to communicate to her via a note through the door, but so far she's had no success.
She added: "She seems very unapproachable.
"From what I've heard, even when her friends are round, there is loud banging and arguing.
"I've heard how she is with people who are close to her so what would she be like with a neighbour?
"I don't want to put myself or the children at risk."
The mum said she first contacted Manchester City Council back in July, and they've sent two letters to her neighbour, but due to the coronavirus restrictions they haven't been able to assess her complaint from within the property.
Now, after she called again last week, the council told her there's nothing that they can do.
"I spoke to them regarding the sex noise again and they said there's nothing they can do because it's a natural noise," she said.
"I don't know what else we can do. I'm so sleep deprived."
The officer who visited said that no noise could be heard from street level, but added that noise monitoring equipment is now being installed to see if there is actually a 'nuisance'.
If the evidence is gathered, there is no reason that a legitimate noise complaint can't be made. The Environmental Protection Act of 1990 and the Noise Act of 1996 states that any noise must be "either detrimental to a person's health and/or it is interfering (or is likely to interfere) with a person's own enjoyment of their own property and land" in order to be acted upon.
Manchester Council's Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, said: "Manchester City Council officers attended a property in response to a call on Saturday 17 October, as there had been reports of loud noise from the property.
"The officer who attended the property at 01.20am said no noise could be heard.
"Wherever possible, for the safety of residents and staff, at the current time, officers are assessing noise from street level rather than entering properties to make an assessment of whether noise constitutes a nuisance."
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