A Lowestoft man has been fined £2,000 for noise offences, despite prior warning to stop.

David Learmonth, of Burnham Way, was found guilty of breaching the Environmental Protection Act, as well as failing to comply with an abatement notice ordering him to stop.

Learmonth was supposed to appear at a hearing at Suffolk Magistrates Court on Friday, October 15, but was denied entry due to threatening behaviour towards staff earlier in the day, a spokesperson for East Suffolk Council confirmed.

The court fined Learmonth a total of £2,040, comprising of £500 for two charges of continuing after the notice, £940 in costs, and £100 for the victim surcharge.

The court also ordered the seizing of Learmonth's bass box, CDs, a soundbar, and several sets of speakers under the Noise Act 1996.

James Mallinder, East Suffolk Council's cabinet member for the environment said: "Many people are spending more time at home now and so it is more important than ever to be considerate to others when it comes to noise.

"Nuisance noise, such as loud music, can have a detrimental effect on people’s mental wellbeing and we will always investigate complaints of ongoing noise issues.

"Most people are unaware they are causing a problem for others.

"However, in this case, the noise continued even after being served with a notice to stop and this action resulted in prosecution, a heavy fine and the removal of the person's audio equipment."

In September, it was revealed East Suffolk Council recorded more than 900 complaints as noisy neighbours caused a headache during the first year of the coronavirus lockdown.

There were 985 noise complaints linked to neighbours between April 2020 and March this year, according to the figures. That was 393 complaints for every 100,000 people .

The number of complaints soared from 880 the year before – a 12pc increase – as people across the area were confined to their homes for sustained periods during lockdown.

For more details about how East Suffolk Council deal with nuisance noise, go to: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/nuisance-caused-by-noise-smoke-and-rubbish.

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Have you experienced noisy neighbours during the pandemic? Email reece.hanson@archant.co.uk.