Brighton: Fury at high pitched alarm which stops man sleeping

Rob Coe and his neighbours live in flats in Portland Street, Brighton, which are just metres away from the back of the Brighton Theatre NCP car park.

One night last month, Rob, a self-employed business owner, was unable to sleep but could not put his finger on what was disturbing him.

Rob Coe outside the NCP Brighton Theatre car park in Church Street (Image: The Argus)

He got out of bed and realised he could hear a loud, high-pitched ringing noise which was “penetrating his skull”.

“It has been awful,” Rob told The Argus. “It has caused so much disruption and distress.”

The 40-year-old, who suffers from tinnitus, said the ringing has worsened his condition, which had been improving.

Rob, who has been working from home while setting up his graffiti-cleaning business, said he has been suffering from headaches and migraines, nausea and dizziness, plus immense stress from the loss of sleep for three nights.

The back of the car park, which is just metres from Rob Coe's home (Image: The Argus)

A spokesman for NCP said the alarms have been “incredibly successful” in reducing the impact of antisocial behaviour on the business.

Rob believes the use of such alarms should be banned in residential areas.

He said he has spoken to his neighbours and people living in Spring Gardens who have also been disturbed by the noise.

He believes the alarm is a controversial “mosquito”, which produces a high-frequency sound intended to deter would-be vandals and troublemakers.

Back in 2010, the Council of Europe found the device should be banned from Britain because it “violates legislation prohibiting torture”.

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The device, set at a frequency said to be audible to people 25 and under, was then deemed “degrading and discriminatory” to youngsters.

However, most of Rob’s neighbours, including those well over 25, have been able to hear the alarm.

“These alarms are inhumane and are designed to cause discomfort,” Rob said.

After several complaints, and even resorting to a late-night trip to his parents' house to finally get some shut-eye, Rob managed to persuade staff at the NCP car park to turn off the alarm on Tuesday.

But it was not until two days later that Rob stopped hearing the sound, thanks to his tinnitus, and he is worried the alarm could be turned back on soon. 

Rob also complained to Brighton and Hove City Council about the noise.

The council’s environmental health team visited the site in response to resident complaints but at the time of the visits there was no audible alarm or sound from the equipment.

One night, Rob Coe had to go to his parent's home so he could sleep without being disturbed by the alarm sound (Image: The Argus)

The Argus went to the NCP Brighton Centre in Russell Road, where the alarm is still on. It was audible from at least 50 metres away.

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A spokesman for NCP said: “As a business we are working hard to tackle the issue of antisocial behaviour and these alarms have been incredibly successful for us in reducing the impact this issue is having on our business and our customers.  We certainly don’t want local residents to be disturbed and so our team is already dealing with this matter. 

“The alarm was switched off earlier this week whilst we look to resolve this issue with our supplier partner.  This alarm system is just another method we are using whilst we try to keep our car parks safe working spaces for our customers and so we will hope to resolve this as soon as possible and our apologies to anyone affected by this.”