A mother of two was being forced to move house because of a neighbour's noisy DIY, a court heard.

Anne Bond said her home in Hartington Road, Brighton, where her family have lived for 18 years, was on the market.

Her next-door neighbour, Philip Hilliard, was appealing at Brighton Magistrates Court against a noise abatement notice issued by Brighton and Hove City Council following a complaint from Mrs Bond.

Mr Hilliard, a financial controller, said the notice, which restricts the hours he can carry out noisy work, was unfair.

Magistrates ruled the restrictions were reasonable, dismissed the appeal and ordered him to pay £836 costs to the council.

The neighbours fell out when Mr Hilliard, who moved into his terraced home about ten years ago, began major renovations in his 50ft garden in December 1999.

The work included replacing garden walls and laying a patio and decking. It is still not finished.

Mrs Bond said she became disturbed and distressed by the noise of the work, which included the use of a pneumatic drill, an electric saw, a pickaxe, cement mixer and an angle-grinder.

She said: "It was unbearable. For the last two years our home has been attached to a building site.

"There was no consideration of the noise, dirt, dust or disruption.

"My quality of life, comfort and privacy were affected. There were days I had to leave my home."

She started keeping a diary and in July last year complained to the council.

An environmental health officer visited and, after seeing the work in progress, issued the notice, which includes time restrictions agreed under the building industry's code of practice.

Mr Hilliard was told he could only carry out noisy work between 8am and 7pm Monday to Friday, 8am and 1pm on Saturdays and at no time on Sundays or bank holidays.

During cross-examination by Mr Hilliard, Mrs Bond denied she made the complaint because she did not like him or his wife.

She said her family had decided to move because of the noise and the unhealthy atmosphere between her and the neighbours. They had accepted an offer on the house.

Mr Hilliard denied he had acted unreasonably and said other neighbours had not complained.

The order was unfair because he could only carry out the work for five hours on a Saturday.

He said: "I have always been conscious of keeping the disruption to my neighbours to a bare minimum.

"I strongly believe I have been reasonable and not done anything wrong.

"Mrs Bond has taken a dislike to us and tried to prevent us carrying out improvements to our home."