Warrant needed to silence nuisance alarm in Anglesey

If you're planning a family break anytime soon, please make sure you've registered your house alarm with the County Council.

Faulty intruder alarms can be annoying at the best of times, but try living next door to a house with an alarm sounding constantly for more than a week!

Environmental Health officers recently had to obtain a court warrant to enter a house on the Island, following complaints of a nuisance alarm causing a din.

The owner was unfortunately away on holiday, and now faces a £100 bill after officers were also forced to call on the services of both a locksmith and engineer to prevent the alarm causing further noise nuisance to neighbours.

Principal Environmental Health Officer, Huw Thomas, stressed, "This could all have been avoided had the owner registered the alarm with the County Council.

"By registering your alarm with the Council, if a fault or false alarm does occur whilst you're away, we'll be able to contact a registered key holder to switch it off without any cost or further inconvenience."

He added, "We offer a free service and registration forms are available on our website."

There are several steps you can take to prevent your intruder alarm causing noise problems in your neighbourhood and incurring unnecessary costs.

• register your alarm with the County Council using an Alarm Registration Form available to download on our website www.anglesey.gov.uk or call (01248) 752820
• ensure your alarm is installed by a qualified alarm engineer
• ensure your alarm has a cut out device (20 minutes) to prevent it ringing for long periods and that it is well maintained

Environment portfolio holder, Councillor Bob Parry OBE, is encouraging more homeowners to sign up to the registration scheme.

He said, "Our Environmental Health Section receives complaints about intruder alarms sounding every year. Thankfully, the majority relate to false alarms caused by faults or pets. If unchecked, however, these alarms can cause a noise nuisance and loss of sleep if they sound during the night."