'Non-stop clanking outside our house is driving us mad'

The constant clanking of a faulty manhole cover as it is driven over by cars has kept residents awake all night for more than a year, they say.

Mike and Angie Yates, who live near the manhole cover on Drews Holloway - a main road between Halesowen and Stourbridge in the West Midlands - said they had endured months of persistent noise.

When the BBC measured noise at the site, they found it rose to more than 90 decibels when vehicles drove over the manhole cover - a level that, with prolonged exposure, can cause hearing loss.

A spokesperson for water company Severn Trent, which is responsible for the manhole cover, said necessary works would be completed "as soon as possible".

"It's at night [when we are] trying to rest and sleep, it's just constant," said Angie.

"There's never really any let up, day or night."

"It's non-stop - click, clack, click, clack," added Mike.

The BBC's measurements of background traffic noise found it typically ranged between 58 and 65 decibels, but rose to potentially dangerous levels once the manhole cover was driven over.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People says prolonged exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss.

Fellow resident Mike Holt said he and his wife had been forced to move bedrooms because of the non-stop clanking outside their home.

"My wife and myself, we've had to move bedrooms from the front of the building to the back," he said.

Barry Hughes also said the sound kept he and his pet dog up all night, describing the "clanking and banging" as "quite disturbing".

A Severn Trent spokesperson apologised for delays in repairing the manhole cover and for distress caused by the noise.

"We're currently liaising with the Highways Agency to secure the necessary permit to ensure we complete these works as soon as possible," they added.

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