A BOURNEMOUTH pre-school has complained after a neighbour installed a horn over its playground which has left children crying.

Epiphany Pre-School in Castle Lane West has labelled the installation of a loud horn over its playground by a disgruntled neighbour as an act of 'intimidation' after it disrupted its sports day on July 12. 

Jackie Hiscox, Epiphany manager, said she had pre-warned parents about the alarm after she had first noticed it on July 9.

She said: "It's a special day for these children. Obviously, it did go off and they were absolutely disgusted by what they heard. 

"We came in one day and we thought it was a camera at first so we contacted the council because have to be careful of our children.

"It's just a bit sad really."

Since it was installed, the horn has been played three times with two incidents occurring before the sports day. 

Jackie and the school children were given a fright when it was first played and it has led to talks with the children on the behaviour of the neighbour. 

She said: "We had children crying because they thought it was a fire alarm. They didn't know what was going on. 

"I think it's intimidating for the children to have this going on when all they are doing is playing. Some of our children live in flats and might not even have gardens.

"We had to explain to the children some older people don't like noise and then had one child say 'we're just playing'."

The pre-school has had complaints previously regarding noise but has tried to accommodate these needs. 

This has included blowing bubbles onto the other side of the garden after a complaint and moving their slide. 

Victoria, a parent of a child at the school, said: "Within ten minutes of the sports day, whomever it is that lives there set this horn off. The kids aren't particularly loud and it's such a shame. 

"If you buy a house on the back of a pre-school, what are you expecting?"

The Daily Echo has contacted BCP Council for comment.