Celebrity couple Tess Daly and Vernon Kay pulled out of a £4 million mansion deal in Buckinghamshire because of the “shattering” helicopter noise from a nearby aerodrome, a businessman claimed in court this week.

The couple, who live in the county, had apparently been keen on the house but decided against moving because of the nightmare din of chopper blades coming from Denham Aerodrome, the current homeowners say.

Norman Peires and his wife Lorna ploughed £1.5million into revamping Shepherds Holt, a six-bedroom mansion in Denham soon after they bought it in 2006, and are now claiming for £700,000 in damages.

Speaking at the High Court, Mrs Peires, 69, said: "We made that house exactly the way we wanted it. We wanted to live there for ever".

But their dreams soured when relaxing in the garden and afternoon tennis parties had to compete with the roar of helicopters from nearby Denham Aerodrome, the court heard.

And now the couple are suing the owners of the 100-year-old airfield, Bickerton's Aerodrome Ltd, claiming they have not done enough to curtail the racket.

They want a court order restricting the noise - or £700,000 compensation for the loss of their home's value.

Tess Daly and Vernon Kay had been very keen on buying the property - until they stepped out into the garden, said Mr Peires.

The celebrity couple were "left horrified by the noise" during their second viewing and were visibly shocked, the court heard.

Mr Peires said: “Tess Daly said later that they loved our house but that they couldn't live with those helicopters.”

Another thwarted potential buyer was TV sports broadcaster, Gabby Logan, who currently lives with her family in Penn.

Denham Aerodrome. 

Mr Peires said he and his wife had vacated the house so it could be "free of vendors" for her visit.

But Mrs Logan pulled out of the viewing and Mr Peires said: "My wife told me she wasn't coming because she'd got to the gate and was put off by the noise."

He added: "The only ones who were really interested were put off by the helicopters. We decided to stop selling it in the end because it was a lost cause."

Mr Peires, who made his fortune in the travel industry, said they ended up letting Shepherd's Holt between 2013 and 2015.

Mr Peires, told Mr Justice Peter Smith that "our main request of the court is to help us live in peace”.

The aerodrome's QC, Richard Harwood, accused Mr Peires of being "rather arrogant", claiming he tried to get helicopter flying schedules changed late in the day to suit his convenience.

"I don't agree," countered the pensioner. "I try to be courteous, but there are times when I become agitated because I don't feel I'm being taken seriously, or that I'm being made a fool of."

Much of the dispute in the case boils down to the timing of helicopter manoeuvres - with Mr and Mrs Peires claiming their peace is regularly disturbed for up to half-an-hour at a time.

However, Mr Harwood insisted that helicopter training flights from the aerodrome had been greatly reduced in recent years.

The hearing continues.