World’s Loudest Manhole Keeps Locals Awake Up To Half A Mile Away

A manhole in Kent, England, which has been dubbed the “loudest manhole in the world” by locals, is keeping people awake at night, and it’s so loud it can be heard up to half a mile away!

Residents living in the Homewood Road area of Tenterden, Kent, say the sound caused by vehicles driving over the broken manhole is similar to the noise of a “shotgun going off” and just about as loud.

The noise pollution has been an issue for the residents of Tenterden for a couple of months now since the busy A28 road was resurfaced in July.

Lizzie Spring, a retired osteopath who has lived in a house on the corner of Homewood Road and Ashford Road for a year, had plenty to tell reporters.

“Until they resurfaced the road, the cover was no louder than any other manhole cover. The A28 is a busy road, but my house has good double glazing, so I could barely hear the traffic. But now, since they resurfaced the road, every time a car drives past you can hear a massive explosive bang. It’s so loud. Any percussion orchestra would be proud to make a sound like that.”

Despite numerous complaints by Spring to Kent County Council about the noise pollution caused by the manhole cover, it hasn’t been fixed even though the council did send a highways inspector to look at it.

Unfortunately, to add to the residents of Tenterden’s woes, she offered the following details.

“Worryingly, the inspector said he did not know who owned the cover, whether it was the water board, electric or someone else. There are no markings on it. Until they find out who owns it, I don’t think they can fix it. But in the meanwhile, the sound is getting louder all the time. It’s like a shotgun going off every time a car drives over it. I get woken up many times during the night, and I know a lot of my neighbours do as well.”

Another resident said the noise is so bad that he is considering relocating to a new house altogether. “Every night it’s the same banging. We might move under the Gatwick flight path because jumbo jets are probably quieter,” he joked.