Anger as loose manhole cover in Brighton goes unrepaired (From The Argus)

Anger as loose manhole cover in Brighton goes unrepaired

4:10pm Tuesday 15th January 2013 in News By Tim Ridgway & Kimberly Middleton

Sleep-deprived residents have endured months of ‘gunshot’ noises emanating from a broken manhole cover.

The wonky cover and eroding road surface has not been fixed because no one knows who is responsible for the Eastern Road hole in Brighton.

Householders claim their sleep is being disturbed as vehicles pass over the utility grid, making a noise similar to a gunshot.

Camilla Markowika, 47, of College Road, Brighton, said she was only getting four hours sleep a night which was causing her to take days off work sick.

She added: “All I want is a good night’s sleep.

“We had the same problem about two years ago but the council managed to do something then to sort it. Then about five months ago it started again.

“It is best described as a gunshot. It’s only getting worse.”

'Fobbed off'

Mother Vicky Etheridge said it had been a problem for about four months.

She added: “We just keep getting fobbed off.

“I came back one day and someone had just put a traffic cone on it and traffic was swerving around it into oncoming traffic.”

Neighbour Liz Ashley said the noise keeping her awake at night was sending her barmy.

Increased stress

She said: “I lay in bed on Sunday night and could feel my stress levels rising every time a car passed over it.

“Getting no response about it is awful. We just feel we’re being completely ignored.”

Nearby residents say it is particularly bad at night, as night buses rumble down the street which connects the city centre to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

A council spokeswoman said: “The owner needs to safely fit a replacement.

“We have contacted all the utility companies to try to find out who is responsible.

Owners sought

“We have been able to rule out some utility providers but at the moment no utility has confirmed they own the cover.”

“We are carrying out extensive investigations to attempt to find the owner.

“We understand and apologise for the inconvenience this is causing.

“Until the utility responsible takes ownership of their problem it is difficult to resolve the matter quickly.

“We are continuing to do all we can to find out who is responsible for the cover so the noise can be stopped.”

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