STRESSED residents of upmarket Canford Cliffs say their lives are being made miserable by boozy stag and hen weekend ‘party houses’.

Around 30 aggrieved neighbours attended a meeting to brief Poole MP Robert Syms on the problem, which they say involves the private letting of houses for up to £750 a night purely for party weekends.

Neighbours complain of being kept awake by loud music all night, after stag and hen parties make their way back from Bournemouth’s nightclubs.

Roads that have been raised as concerns include Canford Cliff Avenue, Brownsea View Avenue and Burton Road.

Branksome Park, Canford Cliffs and District Residents Association chairman John Sprackling said: “They are causing a tremendous nuisance to neighbours and we are seeking a remedy to stop this happening. The neighbours are mainly retired people.”

Meanwhile, Borough of Poole ward councillors Xena Dion and May Haines have also pledged to ensure every action is taken against those responsible for letting out the houses.

Cllr Haines said: “Nobody objects to people having an occasional party or celebration in their own home.

“But residents who live around these houses have to suffer interminable disturbance from parties that go on every weekend and often last through the night.

“Sometimes they only start in the early hours when revellers return from local nightclubs and continue partying. It is making their lives totally miserable.”

Poole MP Robert Syms has agreed to press the government on tightening relevant laws and regulations to combat the problem.

Cllr Dion said: “Unfortunately it is not simply a case of calling the council and getting it stopped.

“The only way legal action can be taken is through the courts, and the courts demand sufficient, factual evidence to satisfy them that the owners of the houses are intentionally letting out their house for party weekends. As with all legal issues, it is complicated and there are loopholes that owners have argued against and, in some cases, won.”

Cllr Dion advises neighbours report noisy parties to the council as they are happening, as officers need to record events firsthand.

  •  Dorset Police Commissioner Martyn Underhill has been asked to speak on the issue at the residents’ association AGM, April 26, 10.30am, Canford Cliffs village hall.