Sheffield pensioner ‘at the end of his tether’ over beauty clinic’s burglar alarm

Ian Elliott, aged 75, of Psalter Lane, Sharrow, says the alarm system of the Skin clinic next door to his house goes off in the early hours of the morning on a regular basis.

In just the past month he said the alarm has gone off three times in ten days, once at 6am on October 24, once at 4.30am on Octoer 31 and once at 1.30am on November 2.

But the problems have been going on for years, Ian says, and all his attempts to complain to the company have so far fallen on deaf ears.

He said: “On all of these occasions there was no attempt to break in - they were false alarms.

“The manager has told me the cause was probably the wind rattling a window glass but this is not acceptable.

“Two years ago I wrote to their head office in Birmingham but received no reply. And I have visited their office next to me to complain to no avail.

“They don’t seem to accept the seriousness of my complaint or either they don’t care.”

Ian says he has also told South Yorkshire Police and the Sheffield Council about the problems, with varying levels of success.

“The police were helpful but it is actually the council who have responsibility for nuisance alarms,” he said.

“But I wrote to the chief executive of Sheffield Council and have not received a reply.

“Other people in the area have complained as well and the company always says they have fixed it – but it carries on.”

A spokesperson from Skin Clinics says: “We were made aware of a technical issue with our alarm system at our Sheffield Clinic and we worked hard to resolve the fault as quickly as possible.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused to the surrounding neighbours and will be monitoring the situation closely to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.