A man claims he is being driven “crazy” by a mysterious noise in his house, which has stopped him enjoying a good night’s sleep for over a year.
The strange sound, which comes from beneath Alfred Johnson’s kitchen and echoes throughout the pipes in his house, varies from a constant “boiler room” sound to irregular, metallic tapping.
Mr Johnson, of Bermondsey, told the News: “It is loud now [during the day] but three times worse at night. The noise travels through the pipes, so it is in every room. It is so bad that I have had to travel to my friend’s house in Chiswick to sleep.”
He said he had pleaded with Thames Water for months to investigate the sound, but had been told it was not an emergency.
He said: “It is not right, there must be a law against it. If you cannot feel comfortable in your home then it is not a home. It feels more like a boiler room.”
While he said that his first priority was getting some shut eye, he also believed he should be compensated for the disruption the constant noise had caused.
“I’ve been through hell. I think I should be compensated for all of this. Someone should be responsible.”
Councillor Richard Livingstone, Southwark Council cabinet member for housing, said that the situation was “completely unacceptable.”
He said: “Officers have been contacting Thames Water on Mr Johnson’s behalf for the past few weeks and a visit was made on 17th February. A return visit by Thames Water is due this week – if the problem is not resolved after this, we will reassess the situation.
“We are more than happy to work with Thames Water and allow access for any works to fix the issue permanently. We will continue to be as supportive and helpful to Mr Johnson as we can be – I sincerely hope this matter is resolved very soon.”
A spokesperson for Thames Water denied responsibility for the pipes, but said they would fix them as a “gesture of goodwill.”
They said: “The leak is on a privately owned pipe which, as it’s inside the property boundary, isn’t our responsibility; however we have offered to repair it for free as a gesture of goodwill. We’re sorry we’ve not fixed it sooner and will make it a priority to do the work as soon as we possibly can.”