VILLAGERS have been left fuming over a mysterious humming noise that causes a massive nuisance and keeps getting louder.
Disgruntled locals of Immingham, North East Lincolnshire say they have heard the low-level sound in their homes for a number of years.
Immingham is a coastal town in North East Lincs where locals say they can hear a low hum[/caption]
Chloe Eccles said the noise was annoying and frequent[/caption]
Carl Wood said he has heard the noise for ‘years’[/caption]
Locals tormented by the sound say it is “driving us potty” and shared their fears that it may be linked to the wind turbine industry.
Some Immingham residents claimed they can no longer sleep at night after the noise which has plagued them for years suddenly got worse.
Suspicions are growing that the problem may be linked to the presence of local wind turbines – leading to calls for a full investigation.
But others argue there could be a simpler explanation, such as local marine industries and heavy duty loading gear used on the docks, if only bosses would own up to the cause.
Mum-of-three Chloe Eccles said: “We hear it quite frequently – more so in the past few months, perhaps because of the weather because the ground is cold.
“You don’t hear it so much in the summer. The sound is like a low flying plane or helicopter going overhead – a horrible droning noise.
“It is constant and loud. Last Wednesday, it started at 4pm and I could still hear it at 10am the next day. It is quite long to suffer a noise that goes on for ages.
“When I went outside it was like the ground was vibrating. I can sit in my bedroom and not hear much but when I lie down I can hear it and feel the vibrations.”
She added: “The thing is once you have heard it – you can’t stop hearing it.
“It has got worse over the past six months. I think it started when they put the underground cables in for the wind turbines.
“It is affecting my sleep. I can still feel the vibrations with my headphones on even if I cannot hear it.
“Even if we cannot stop it happening everyone wants to pinpoint where it is coming from so at least we know.”
North East Lincolnshire Council say they have searched for its source and “drawn a blank”, so may never know the truth.
Carl Wood, 55, said: “I have heard it for years. At night when things have quietened down you can hear the boats on the river and their diesel engines. It is like a low drone.
“You can hear it coming from the river. I think it is the low drone of diesel engines from boats.”
Others agreed with Carl and echoed concerns that the noise had been going on for years.
Christine Nielson, 74, said: “It has been going on two or three years but it has been exceptionally bad this year. It was going for three nights. I nodded off and woke up and thought ‘Oh no – it is still going on.’
“You could hear it when you are watching TV. It is coming from the East – the docks. But nearly every industry on the bank has been asked about it.”
It is driving us potty, it is a constant drone. Your ears get fixated on it
Christine Nielson, 74
Christine said that every company has denied being the source of the hum, leaving residents perplexed.
She continued: “It comes and goes according to the conditions outside.
“It is driving us potty. It is a constant drone. Your ears get fixated on it and you think, ‘There it goes again.’
“Someone sat in an office somewhere on this Humber bank knows it is them and they are keeping stum about it.”
Amanda Leshone, 59, said: “I have heard rumbles like a steam roller rolling across the ground. It is definitely more of a steam roller sound. You can feel it.
“Other times it sounds more like an aeroplane. You often hear it but only at night time.”
‘GROUND WAS VIBRATING’
In 2021, hum campaigner Yvonne Conner compared the noise to a form of torture.
She said the council needed to bring in an outside group to measure for the sound as it was “unfair” for residents to have to live through.
The parish of Immingham only has a population of 10,000 people, but it is near an industrial area, as well as wind turbines and the sea.
There have been suggestions the hum could be coming from oil refineries or underground cables.
Others say they have not heard the hum personally.
Michelle Fearn, 63, said: “I have not actually heard the hum. But I hear all kinds of weird noises coming from the refinery.
“Whatever people are hearing must be some kind of machinery. If it is affecting people that much someone needs to get to the bottom of what is going on.”
A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council confirmed that it had received one complaint about the noise from a resident of Immingham.
“That person has been sent a noise record form to complete over a period of two weeks, which is used to look at the times that people hear a noise. The authority is waiting for that to be returned.
“However, in the meantime the authority is aware that there have been a number of comments on social media about what appears to be an intermittent hum.
“Initial contact with partners operating in the area have so far drawn a blank, although the authority did make the point that it could be coming from outside the borough.
“It will continue to work with residents if more service requests are received. However, a noise must constitute a Statutory Nuisance for formal action to be instigated.”
Locals think the hum could be possibly coming from an industrial area[/caption]
Christine Neilson from Immingham said the noise was driving locals potty[/caption]
Amanda Leshone says you can even ‘feel’ the rumbling sometimes[/caption]
Michelle Fearn said she has not heard the humming herself[/caption]
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