A Milford woman has been ordered to pay almost £4,000 in court fees after refusing to turn her music down, despite being issued with a noise abatement notice.
Gemma Hughes, 27, had been repeatedly asked by Pembrokeshire County Council to turn down the volume of music that she played at her previous address at 10 Howarth Close, Milford Haven.
Her persistent failure to comply resulted in a noise abatement notice being served by the local authority. But Gemma Hughes continued to ignore it.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that she lived in a block of four flats.
“The music could be heard in the other flats around her, and it caused a considerable disturbance to the neighbours,” said Alys Williams, a lawyer for Pembrokeshire County Council.
“And the music was being played at an anti-social time.”
This week Hughes was listed to appear before Haverfordwest magistrates after she denied two charges of contravening and failing to comply with the abatement notice.
However her husband informed the court via a phone call earlier that morning, that Hughes was unable to attend as a result of a migraine.
No medical evidence was provided and magistrates agreed to proceed with the case in her absence.
The first person to give evidence was public health officer Steve Morbey who said that numerous complaints had been made concerning the noise levels emanating from her flat.
“We’d received complaints over a reasonable amount of time which resulted in an abatement notice being served, asking her to take steps to reduce the amount of noise,” he said.
“But the abatement notice didn’t make a great deal of difference.”
In the early hours of May 22, 2022, police officer Matthew Davies attended her property following yet another complaint from a member of the public.
“It was approximately 12.30am and when I arrived, I could hear the music from outside,” he said.
“When I went up to her flat and asked her to turn the music down she asked me if she could leave it on for a bit longer because she particularly enjoyed the next song.
"When I went back to the van, I could still clearly hear it from 15 metres away.”
The following month, police had yet another call from a member of the public informing them that the music was once again being played to excessive levels at 10 Howarth Close.
“It was just after midnight,” said police officer Skone who is stationed at Pembroke Dock.
“Entering the communal hallway, the music could be clearly heard coming from the flat and it was excessive.”
After considering the evidence, magistrates found Hughes guilty of both charges.
She was ordered to pay a total of £3,979.75 comprising £1,320 of fines, £2,525.75 prosecution costs to Pembrokeshire County Council and a £132 surcharge.
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