Kibworth residents forced to wear ear plugs to block out loose manhole cover which bangs like 'a machine gun'

Homeowners on the A6 say the loose manhole cover opposite the Coach and Horses pub car park first started banging in April but has recently become louder, reaching nearly 100 decibels at points.

Owners Anglican Water have been out to reduce the noise, which worked temporarily, but it has again been knocked loose by traffic.

Local resident Stuart Wood said: “Neighbours are having to wear ear plugs at night – we can’t even relax in the garden as it gets hit and bangs every few seconds – it’s so irritating.

“We don’t know what to do now, you can hear the noise from several hundred metres away. The A6 is an exceptionally busy road and so the noise is constant day and night.

“Residents on the A6 reported the incident to Leicestershire County Council on April 14 after the noise got louder over a period of two weeks.

“After no response the issue was raised with the owners of the manhole cover - Anglian Water. They sent some engineers to fix the issue on June 4, but the manhole cover has continued to get louder and louder and louder.”

Anglican Water have apologised and say they will be taking another look at the loose cover.

A spokesman said: “We’re sorry that the manhole on the A6 in Kibworth has been noisy recently. While loose manhole covers aren’t dangerous, we appreciate that the noise can be frustrating. Our team dampened the noise coming from the manhole with wedges however, these have since been knocked loose.

“The manhole cover has been approved for repair, which we are working to complete as soon as possible. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we get things back to normal.”

Stuart added: “It is firing off sound reaching almost 100 decibels each time it is hit by traffic on the busy commuter road.

“The noise made by the loose manhole cover was recorded at 97.3 decibels on June 17.”