Imagine waking up at 5 AM every single day to your neighbour’s alarm clock screaming for 90 minutes straight. Now imagine that happening twice daily. For months. Welcome to Spijkenisse, where one woman’s nightmare finally required a police intervention.
Simone, 33, moved into her new flat on A.M. de Jongstraat in April with dreams of a fresh start.
Instead, she got a daily dose of auditory torture courtesy of an alarm clock that went off at 5 AM and 5 PM, ringing for a solid hour and a half each time. (For Gen Zs, this is old school analogue clock torture.)
“The thought crosses your mind to grab a paving stone and throw it through the window, but obviously you don’t do that,” she told Rijnmond. Obviously.
When Dutch bureaucracy meets sleep deprivation
After months of sleep-deprived agony, Simone did what any rational person in the Netherlands would do: she filed complaints with the gemeente, her housing corporation, and the police.
Because nothing says “I’m at my wits’ end” quite like proper administrative channels.
The police spent two weeks trying to reach the absent neighbour before finally taking action on Sunday.
When the alarm began its daily performance, officers removed the lock, entered the flat, and discovered… nothing suspicious. Just multiple alarm clocks, presumably set by someone who either had the world’s worst memory or a very committed vendetta against their neighbours.
Silence at last
The alarms have been switched off, and Simone can finally sleep.
“You have to persist, because noise pollution is the worst thing when you’re sleep-deprived,” she said, in what might be the understatement of the year.
Ever had nightmare neighbours in the Netherlands? Share your horror stories in the comments below.
