IT HAS been ruining sleeping patterns for more than two years.

But the noisy manhole cover in North Walls has finally been fixed – with residents now living a much quieter life.

Julia Clyne, one of the main advocates for the repair work, said she "risked her life" to take these protest photos.

Before the fix, she told the Chronicle: " The council must have 40 to 50 complaints, we simply cannot sleep and I've written our Lib Dem councillor Dominic Hiscock, I've written to Hampshire Roads I've written to Hampshire Health and Safety and I've written to the Hampshire Street Works coordinator but no one is taking the level of this 24 hour, 365 day a year noise disturbance seriously.

"Every single time a car goes down North Walls – and there are tens-of-thousands – first their front set of wheels hit the loose metal drain cover then they're back wheels hit the drain cover so every two seconds of every minute of every day it's as if two metal dustbin lids are being heavily clashed together."

Karen Bosher, of Kutz in North Walls, supported Julia's campaign, describing the the noise as "infuriating".

"The faster the speed of the vehicle the louder the noise," added Julia. "All this in the middle of a residential area and still Southern Water who owns the cover have done nothing but Hampshire roads insist that complaints have been forwarded to them."

Just days after her email to this newspaper, which was also sent a city councillor and Southern Water, contractors were sent to fix the cover.

Julia said: "After years of suffering, I'm delighted, I am absolutely over the moon to say that a team of subcontractors for Southern Water turned up and drilled and dug and fully replaced the drain cover yaaaa I made them coffee and chocolate biscuits every hour as they worked."