FAMILIES who suffered "appalling" noise from diggers and motorbikes day and night during the construction of a motocross track nearby said they were relieved their ordeal had ended.
Neighbours of Tretheague Farm on the outskirts of Stithians, which include elderly people and young children, had to put up with the noise from 6am to midnight over the course of a month.
"The noise was difficult to describe – it just went right through you," said Dominic Penrose, who lives on the adjacent land with his wife, Nicola.
He and other residents filed a formal complaint to Cornwall Council, claiming it went against planning rules related to the use of the land.
"It was driving everybody absolutely mad. It really was appalling."
Vanessa van Dinther said that she, her husband and three young sons also suffered from the "pure headache material" and "incessant noise".
She said: "You would have thought the boys would be excited by the bikes, but they complained whenever it started up. They were not happy."
She said residents in the village more than quarter of a mile away could hear the noise.
Mr Penrose alleged the activity was in breach of planning laws as the use of the land had changed from agriculture to engineering without proper permission.
He approached the council's planning department and gathered support from the community, police, environmental health officers and a councillor.
Following a letter from the environmental health department at Cornwall Council – the land owners had all but stopped work on the land. By the time the council installed noise detection equipment, the diggers and motorbikes had vanished.
"It was a concerted effort by the public and council to stop this," said Mr Penrose.
"For a while we were really quite depressed that little could be done quickly to stop this activity.
"I think everybody was breathing a sigh of relief but keeping their fingers crossed that it does not start again."
Mrs van Dinther said the land was dug up, holes were knocked through Cornish hedges and orange plastic fencing was put up.
"It is still an eyesore, it is still in our view," she said. "We hope the land is soon sold and it returns to lovely farmland."
Cornwall councillor for Lanner and Stithians, John Thomas, MBE, who helped Mr Penrose, said: "This is something which people should not have to put up with. We were prepared to go further – fortunately there was no need. This is a good outcome for the residents up there and the result of good teamwork."
