Gardener furious after neighbours ‘grass him up’ to West Norfolk council over his noisy lawnmower

A gardener has hit out at the neighbours who “grassed him up” over his lawnmower after the local council told him a noise complaint has been made made.

Furious Malcom Starr, 73, said the “nimbies” who complained should “get a life”. He is currently facing an investigation over the noise - with officials saying they might visit his property in the village of Holme-next-the-Sea, near Hunstanton, Norfolk, to monitor the machine with sound-recording equipment.

They have warned him that if they consider the lawnmower to be a “nuisance”, he could be served with a noise abatement order - or even find himself in court.

Mr Starr, who does not know which of his neighbours complained to West Norfolk council, said: “I feel like I’ve been grassed up by the lawnmower nimbies. They should just get a life.

“The only time I’ve even cut this lawn was on a Sunday, a couple weeks back. I’ve said to the council it’s a very poor show - they want to get their facts right.”

Initially, Mr Starr was unsure whether the complaint related to his regular grasscutter - which he uses to cut his lawn - or the ride-on tractor mower, which he uses on a neighbouring four-acre field. West Norfolk council has told him it relates to the latter.

The investigation has been launched over a possible breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which protects people from noise nuisances. Officials told Mr Starr they hope to resolve the complaint with an “informal solution”, but if that is not successful further inquiries will be carried out.

“These investigations may involve visits by officers with the aim of witnessing the alleged nuisance and/or the use of sound recording equipment at the property of the person making the complaint in order to record the noise that has been reported,” the council said.

It is not the first time Mr Starr has been the subject of controversy in his village. He and his wife Claudia, who rent out a string of holiday homes in the area, were last year threatened with legal action by the same council after it received a complaint over a sign they had put up to promote their business without getting official permission.

Mr Starr is also currently facing a complaint about the storage of fencing and pallets on land next to his property. The 73-year-old said both relate to building work currently being carried out on the house, which he has owned for a decade.

A West Norfolk council spokesperson said: “When the council receives complaints about noise or planning enforcement matters it has a legal duty to investigate and cannot comment on these while they are ongoing.”