Manhole cover makes a holey racket

They say cars driving over the manhole cover in Plover Drive, Greater Leys, cause a noise loud enough to wake them up in the middle of the night.

Jonathan Hastings, 40, of nearby Tern Walk, said: "Every time a car goes over it - all day and all night - it goes clunk, clunk, bang, bang'.

"It is horrendous really. It has been going on for months and it is getting worse and worse."

Mr Hastings said he was among several residents who complained to Oxford City Council about the constant noise from the 2ft by 2ft manhole cover.

He said on two occasions eight months apart he had been told that the problem was being dealt with by the council.

Mr Hastings added: "The whole street has been on about it but nothing has been done.

"It is really loud. We live about 30-40 yards away and it keeps you awake at night, even when the windows are closed you can hear it. It has woken my daughter up a couple of times.

"It is like heavy metal - clunk clunk all the time."

In November 2006, Mr Hastings was among people living in Tern Walk who suffered a constant buzzing sound from machinery at Thames Water's Sewage Plant in Minchery Farm - a quarter of a mile away.

After four complaints in a week Thames Water removed the offending machinery.

Last night a spokesman from the city council said responsibility for the manhole cover in Plover Drive lay with Thames Water.

The spokesman said: "The manhole cover was reported to our highways department in September and an officer surveyed and reported the problem the same day.

"Thames Water are responsible for the cover and we are working with them to get it fixed."

A Thames Water spokesman said the company was alerted to the problem last week and a technician had been booked to inspect the manhole cover.

The spokesman added: "They will assess whether the cover is ours and have a look to see if there is anything which can be done to dampen the noise immediately.

"If not the cover will be replaced."