Residents are driven mad by noisy manhole

IT goes "clack" for a car, "clack clack" for a lorry — and "clack clack clack" for a bendy bus.

A noisy manhole cover is driving people in a Swansea community round the proverbial bend.

They said the clacking interrupts their daytime routine, and, for some, plagues their sleep.

The manhole cover is on Neath Road — a long, busy and relatively narrow terraced street in Plasmarl.

Resident Allan Thomas said he forked out £3,000 on a home entertainment system partly to drown out the clacking cover.

"I bought a 55-inch TV with 600 watts surround sound — but I can still hear it!" he said.

Mr Thomas claimed the manhole cover had been noisy since he moved in two and a half years ago.

Latterly his 15-month-old granddaughter, who lives at the house, has had sleeping problems.

"At night my granddaughter wakes up screaming," he said.

"People come round and the first thing they say is, 'How can you live with it?'

"I've been tempted to attach a tow rope to it and rip it out!"

He added: "The whole cage (under the cover) is moving."

Mr Thomas, a builder, said he has reported the problem to Swansea Council, utility companies and Swansea East AM Mike Hedges.

His neighbour, David Blood, said: "Residents are getting upset by it."

He said he could tell what type of car or bus was driving over it, based on the pitch of the clack.

Some Tarmac was, he said, put down around the cover last week.

Other residents said Tarmac has been put down previously, but had worn away.

John and Betty Griffiths, also of Neath Road, said the clacking has come and gone over the years.

Mrs Griffiths said it was very annoying, but added: "After all this time you get used to it."

The couple have also been in touch with Mr Hedges, who told the Evening Post he has raised the matter with the council since March.

The Labour AM said he was told by the council in July that Virgin Media, which is apparently responsible for the manhole cover, would be undertaking repairs once a Welsh Water scheme in the area was completed.

He said he was then told on September 20 that the materials had been ordered and survey work was to start this week.

Ward councillor Beverly Hopkins said she had also been on the case for months.

"I fell quite let down," she said. "The noise is horrendous."

A council spokesman said it had issued Virgin Media with a notice to resolve the issue.

A Virgin Media spokesman said: "We've attended the site to put a temporary fix in place to prevent any further disruption. We'll be carrying out a detailed assessment to determine what works are needed to permanently resolve the issue. Due to the busy nature of the road any works that need to take place will require traffic management.

"The good news is we're already in talks with the local authorities to ensure permission is granted swiftly to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum, We apologise for any inconvenience caused at this time."

richard.youle @swwmedia.co.uk

01792 514620