Noisy sex woman admits Asbo breach

Last updated at 13:22 GMT, Tuesday, 15 December 2009

A woman who was given an anti-social behaviour order banning her from making loud noises during sex has admitted breaching the order.

Caroline and Steve Cartwright's love-making was described as "murder" and "unnatural" at Newcastle Crown Court.

Neighbours, the local postman and a woman taking her child to school complained about the noise.

Cartwright, 48, from Washington on Wearside, pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the Asbo.

She will be sentenced on 18 January.

At an earlier hearing, next door neighbour Rachel O'Connor told the court she was frequently late for work because she overslept having been awake most of the night because of the noise.

She said: "The noise sounds like they are both in considerable pain. I cannot describe the noise. I have never ever heard anything like it."

In November, Cartwright appealed against a noise abatement notice imposed in 2007, as well as the subsequent Asbo, which banned the couple from "shouting, screaming or vocalisation at such a level as to be a statutory nuisance".

Her bid was rejected by Recorder Jeremy Freedman, who said: "It certainly was intrusive and constituted a statutory nuisance.

"It was clearly of a very disturbing nature and it was also compounded by the duration - this was not a one-off, it went on for hours at a time.

"It is further compounded by the frequency of the episode, virtually every night."

Sunderland City Council told the court they had recorded noise levels of up to 47 decibels using equipment installed at Cartwright's neighbour's house.

World Health Organisation guidelines state that 30 decibels is enough to cause sleep disturbance.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/8413974.stm