A NOISY printing factory is causing a nuisance for its neighbours as the 'crashing' of machines keeps residents up at night.

The persistent sounds coming from Wyndehams printers in Bicester has plagued households for years – even those a mile away.

Residents are fed up of hearing the constant 'crashing' sounds and are now calling for a permanent solution to silence the continued clatter.

Cherwell district councillor Dan Sames, who lives in Langford where many of the residents are tormented by the noise, said people first started complaining three years ago.

He said: "It is particularly noticeable at night and seems to resemble a crashing, a sort of clunk which is sometimes soft and sometimes loud.

"It is every 30 seconds or so, and because it is constant it just becomes more and more noticeable."

The factory, off Launton Road, prints products as part of the Wyndeham Group and online says the Bicester factory can print up to 200 million A4 pages, including up to two million books per day.

Frustrated resident Liz White, who lives in Merganser Drive about a mile from the factory, said when she first heard the sound two years ago she thought it was someone vandalising cars, bashing metal together.

She said: "In my mind as I was half asleep I remember thinking it sounded like corrugated metal sheets being thrown on top of one another, every 30 seconds.

"Once you have heard it, you can't unhear it. It gets you aggravated when you are trying to get to sleep."

Ms White has said she is tempted to start a petition about the noise, adding: "It just wakes you up and keeps you awake as it gets to the point of distraction even in the winter when the windows are closed.

"It is just so loud [with the windows open] even quite a distance away. The company should be made to silence it until its sorted."

Mr Sames and the residents have been in touch with both the printers and Cherwell District Council about the complaints.

They said some progress was made earlier in the year when Wyndehams made changes to help eliminate the sound.

Residents said it was 'bliss' for a few months but then the riot returned.

Mr Sames added: "The sound seems to have moved to another part of the site and more and more people in Langford are starting to hear it.

"When you're next to Wyndehams it's even louder and then seems to carry off with the wind."

He added: "We seem to be back at square one, we want the noise to stop."

Cherwell District Council’s environmental protection team said it has been in contact with the operators of the Wyndeham printing press for a number of months in relation to noise complaints.

In a statement it said: "Wyndeham have co-operated with council officers’ requests and the council has already secured a number of significant improvements, reducing the noise produced by a variety of equipment.

"The council has also required the company to commission a noise consultant as part of this process and they will be returning this month to make further recommendations."

The council will continue to make regular site visits. Wyndehams was contacted for comment but did not respond.