THE lives of residents in Comet country are being made a misery by the incessant noise of aircraft.

The Comet’s newsdesk has been inundated with readers agreeing with Stevenage pensioner Valerie Tuck – featured in last week’s Comet – that planes using London Luton Airport (LLA) are flying lower and more frequently over the area.

Derek and Marian Hirschle live in North Avenue in Letchworth GC. Mrs Hirschle is epileptic and her husband claims the “scream” of aircrafts often triggers a fit.

“Even if we close all our windows we can still hear them,” he said.

“When we look up in the sky it is criss-crossed with vapour trails.”

Marian Alavi has lived in Hayfield in Stevenage for 14 years and said: “We used to get the odd plane come over and it’s got worse and worse.

“Now I get about three planes a minute over my house.

“Sometimes it feels like the plane is going to come through the house – it’s that loud. It’s unbearable.”

All the calls and letters received by The Comet from complainants referred to the same issues – the increase in the noise and frequency of aircraft over the past few months.

The majority of complaints came from people living in Stevenage.

Last week, a spokesman for LLA confirmed that there has been an increase in air traffic over Stevenage and that this is due to the busy summer season and to the direction of the wind over recent weeks.

Plans to change the flight paths for the airport were mooted about two years ago, and then put on hold.

John Davis, a spokesman for the Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise – LADACAN – said a consultation on revised plans is expected to be launched at the end of this year, but it is under wraps what these plans are.

“I’m afraid the bad news is that the airport continues to do well in their terms, which is a pain in the neck for the rest of us,” he said.

“If only people would register their complaints on the LADACAN website www.ladacan.org or call the airport on 01582 395382 or email noise@ltn.aero to complain.

“People have to make it known that there is a problem, otherwise it will get worse and worse.”