A trainee accountant who subjected neighbours to blaring music late at night has been ordered to pay compensation.

Simon Thomas, 23, of Montagu Road, Botley, kept neighbours awake after midnight despite requests to turn the music down.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "It's difficult to believe an educated man could behave like that." Another dubbed him "the neighbour from hell".

Thomas moved into the semi nearly two years ago. The Vale of White Horse District Council started receiving complaints in November 1997.

The council's solicitor, Jonathan Noel, told Oxford magistrates Thomas failed to comply with an abatement notice and an environmental health officer was called in to record the level of noise on three separate occasions.

On one of these, the music was so loud that it could be heard throughout the neighbourhood. Neighbours fear the neglected appearance of No 14, with windows hanging from their hinges and shabby curtains, and the problems with noise, would devalue house prices in the whole street.

Magistrates fined Thomas £300 and ordered him to pay £750 compensation to neighbours and £200 costs.

Harold Hadrell, assistant head of environmental protection, said: "This case demonstrates our commitment to protecting the community from noise and other forms of pollution."

Thomas was not available for comment.

Story date: Wednesday 27 January

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.