GUESTS staying in an Airbnb holiday let in East Lothian had sex so "vigorously" that a clock fell off the wall of the flat downstairs, licensing chiefs heard today.

Residents living in the block of flats in Musselburgh included the incident in a series of objections to a licence being issued for the short-term holiday use of the property.

However, the owner of the Airbnb dismissed the complaint as “ridiculous”, adding: “How can I stop anyone having sex?”

Alan Montgomery applied for a licence to operate his top-floor flat in the block of six on Edinburgh Road, which has been rented out as a holiday flat for the last 20 months.

Neighbours in the building, however, objected, saying that it had been used as a "party flat", there had been incidents of men urinating in gardens, a drunken hen party had intimidated residents, while police had to be called to an incident involving drunken golfers.

One objector wrote: “One couple decided to have sex so vigorously and loudly in the living room of the flat that they caused the [downstairs neighbour’s] clock to fall off the wall and it was damaged.”

'Ongoing problems'

During a meeting of East Lothian Council’s licensing sub-committee today, Mr Montgomery said that he was willing to take any action necessary to ensure future disturbances were avoided at the property, including installing carpets, a noise monitor and Ring doorbell which would monitor the number of people entering the flat.

On the incident, involving the clock he said: “As a respectable man, I visited the neighbour and fixed the clock back on the wall.”

Mr Montgomery denied claims that it was a party flat and said he would ensure no guests were able to book single-night stays amid concerns that local people were using the flat – something which the committee heard had become a trend with short-term lets across the county and beyond.

Neighbour Maxine Wood addressed the committee on behalf of other residents, saying that issues had continued at the property despite complaints to Mr Montgomery, including overflowing bins at the property, which she said was not helped by the council moving its fortnightly collection to a three-weekly service.

She said: “We have ongoing problems. Last week, the four guests that were there were smoking weed in the back garden and blocking access to the beach. We are frustrated and upset.”

Councillor Colin McGinn, committee chairperson, told Mr Montgomery: “I feel that to have been in operation for 20 months and have such a catalogue of complaints is quite alarming.”

The committee agreed to grant a licence to operate for a reduced time of 18 months, with conditions that carpets are put down, noise monitors installed and a video doorbell put in.