The noisiest house in Britain?

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It is probably one of the noisiest houses in Britain.

Yards from the perimeter fence of Heathrow airport, its owners, the long-suffering Sonik family, contend with the roar of jumbo jets overhead for 18 hours a day.

Thirty aircraft an hour fly just 200 yards above the house in Oxford Avenue, Hillingdon - that's 540 between 6am and midnight.

The noise level in Surjit Sonik's living room when a 747 flies overhead is 90 decibels, equivalent to a pneumatic drill pounding the street 10 metres away.

It's only marginally quieter in her bedroom, where readings of 87 decibels were taken - comparable to the sound generated by a juggernaut driving past the front door.

The levels shatter Government guidelines, which set 57 decibels as the maximum acceptable noise from aircraft flying over a residential street. But Mrs Sonik does not want to move and is opposing plans to demolish the street to make way for Heathrow's third runway.

Mrs Sonik, who has four daughters, Amandeep, 13, Randeep, eight, Jasmeet, seven, and five-year-old Navkiran, said the threat of losing their home is like a "black cloud hanging over our heads".

She said: "Why should I have to uproot my family? Noise levels are already high but you have to accept so much because of living near an airport. The Government said that after the fifth terminal plans, there would be nothing else. Then we're told that not only are there plans for another runway, but we could now lose our home. No amount of compensation would be enough. We don't want to move."

More than 10,000 homes could be knocked down if the third runway gets the go-ahead when the Government announces its decision next April. Increased pollution and noise would necessitate the demolition.

Up to 35,000 people in neighbouring Harmondsworth, Sipson, Harlington, Hayes and West Drayton could also lose their homes. Residents have until the end of November to voice their concerns.

Mrs Sonik said: "We have spent over £40,000 creating the home we want, many people have spent more. But it's not about money. Our quality of life here is already getting worse and building another runway will be a total nightmare. Recently at the weekend the noise drove us mad. The whole house was shaking."

The residents are being supported by Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell and campaign group Clearskies, which is against further development at Heathrow.

Mr McDonnell said: "The threat of demolishing homes is outrageous. It's not just people's homes here that would be disrupted but their lives."

Clearskies chairman John Stewart said: "The Government has three options - a third runway which could mean people losing their homes, expanding Stansted airport or building a new airport. The first option would be a disaster. We must make our voices heard now."

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