FAMILIES living close to the new Sainsbury’s superstore in Wycombe town centre have been kept awake by the contractors’ night time shift working on the car park.

Community care worker Natalie Shiels whose house in Garratts Way, Downley overlooks the car park says she lost sleep for four nights because of a “ continuous whooshing noise like gravel being poured.”

“I went to a meeting of the Neighbourhood Action Group and just happened to mention the racket coming from the Sainsbury’s site at night and lots of people said they’d been kept away by it too.

“The ironic thing is there’s a banner on the site saying they’re Considerate Contractors. I looked up the Government website and it said noise should be kept to a minimum between 7pm and 7am weekdays, after 3pm on Saturdays and there should be no noise at all on Sundays.

“The night shift at Sainsburys seemed to work all night on Sunday the 12th of July, they were working all night long on Monday the 13th, again on the 14th and the 15th.

“I have two children and a job and I began to suffer from sleep deprivation. I got onto the council but initially no-one returned my call. Eventually on Thursday the 16th of July I spoke to an officer in the environmental health department and he said the noise would end at midnight.

“ On the 16th it piddled with rain during the evening when they finished at midnight and we haven’t heard any noise since but I’d like to know what was so urgent it had to be done at night. And if they’re going to do more work at night, we as a group would like to be given prior warning.”

Sainsbury’s spokesman Kirsty Merrills said sub contractors had been jet washing the car park as part of the refurbishment works to the building. “The work couldn’t be carried out during the day because the car park was in use but after the complaint the contractors amended their working hours to start and finis h later,” she said.

“It didn’t sound like jet washing to me,” retorted Natalie.