Blown away in row over wind chimes

Robert Russell, who lives in a first floor flat in Clyde Drive, Mossend, says he is a regular visitor to North Lanarkshire Council’s area office with complaints about issues such as graffiti and rowdies drinking in the close late at night.

He was shocked when a housing officer arrived at his door to inform him he was the subject of an anti-social complaint - from a neighbour who apparently couldn’t concentrate because of the noise from his £2.99 wind chimes.

Mr Russell said: “I don’t keep well and the verandah is my wee haven. When the weather’s good I like to sit out there and that’s where I put the wind chimes when I bought them a few months ago.

“When the housing officer told me there had been a complaint I thought it was a joke. I took them down rather than get grief from the council, but I’ll be putting them back up.

“Some neighbours have asked what happened to them and they are getting wind chimes of their own as a protest. If it leads to court and eviction so be it.”

The angry tenant says there are problems in Clyde Drive caused by people from other areas using closes for drinking and drug-taking.

He added: “I fill in anti-social complaint forms for the housing office regularly, but the council doesn’t do enough about it. Yet an officer can come out over a complaint about wind chimes!

“Has a precedent been set now? Will every tenant with wind chimes have to take them down?”

A council spokesman said: “Following a complaint about noise we investigated and spoke to the people concerned. It was agreed with the tenant to remove the wind chimes. We deal with complaints on a case by case basis and take appropriate action where necessary.”

But Mr Russell insisted: “I was told to take them down and did so to save hassle.”