I don't think
this has been posted previously.
I have so far resisted commenting on the website, I shall see how the story develops....
Pam Pringle used to love spending quiet time pottering around the garden.
But these days her sanctuary has been shattered – by the deafening roar of a helicopter.
One of Mrs Pringle's neighbours has started letting a friend land the craft on his back lawn.
The din and dust whipped up by the rotor blades have driven the 79-year-old grandmother of seven to distraction and she says her health is suffering.
She has tried to have an Asbo served on her neighbour, Peter Nash, and has taken legal advice on how to stop the landings but cannot afford to take him to court.
The 'deafening' two-seater aircraft arrives twice a week on average, she says, using a landing pad less than 40ft from her kitchen window.
It has taken off or landed four times in one day on at least one occasion, she says. 'It is a ghastly situation,' said Mrs Pringle, a widow.
'The wind-up time when it is taking off is between 12 and 15 minutes and it is very noisy.
'It builds to a crescendo and you couldn't hear a conversation indoors with the windows closed.'
She added: 'It is ruining my life. My garden used to be a great source of joy and pleasure to me.
'But the noise and dust mean it is impossible to be out there when the helicopter arrives or leaves and I have to keep my curtains closed for privacy.'
Mrs Pringle, who has four sons, moved into her £400,000 home in Blythburgh, Suffolk, in 1996.
Problems began in December 2007 when Mr Nash gave a friend, Bo Maggs, permission to land her Schweizer 269c helicopter in his garden.
Mrs Maggs makes the trips from her home in Shere, Surrey, 80 miles away to visit Mr Nash and the grave of her uncle.
Police initially told Mrs Pringle she could get an Asbo against Mr Nash. But the council investigated and told her that the noise the helicopter created, of 78.6 decibels, would probably not be high enough for a court to award an Asbo.
A decibel level of 80 is equivalent to heavy city traffic or a vacuum cleaner. Mrs Pringle, whose husband Robert was a company director, said: 'There is a heliport at Beccles 25 minutes away and I asked Mrs Maggs if she'd use it.
'She said it would be stupid to fly yourself to one place only to have to catch a taxi to another.
'I'm pretty tough and I despise using words like stress or depression but I am becoming unwell.'
The British Helicopter Association said helicopters on private flights can land an unlimited number of times where a landowner gives permission.
But its chief executive Peter Norton added that measuring noise did not necessarily reflect 'how the human ear hears' the racket created by a helicopter.
Mr Nash, a former BA steward who is in his 60s, was unavailable to comment yesterday.
Mrs Maggs, who has been flying helicopters for nearly 20 years and who runs a business called Helihire, said: 'I could fly in and out of Peter's garden all day if I want but I try to be reasonable. I have fitted an extra silencer to the machine and when I take off or land I avoid flying over houses.'
She added: 'Peter has a heart condition and had to go to hospital. He is still on medication and says my visits have helped his recovery.'
Legal experts said Mrs Pringle could ask her neighbour to enter into mediation to put conditions on the use of the landing area.
Failing that, she could issue civil proceedings over the 'nuisance' caused by her neighbour.
But Jacqui Joyce, a solicitor specialising in neighbour disputes, said: 'That will cost money and there is no guarantee the courts will come down in her favour.'