Noisy sex Asbo breach woman Caroline Cartwright avoids jail

A woman handed an Asbo for having sex too loudly with her husband escaped a prison sentence today after admitting breaching it within days of it being imposed.

Caroline and Steve Cartwright's sex life was so loud, the local postman and a woman taking her child to school complained.

Cartwright, 48, was first hit with a noise abatement notice, and then when she breached that the tougher Asbo was imposed, ordering her to quieten down in the bedroom.

Almost immediately after it was imposed she broke it and then failed in an appeal to have it overturned.

Jobless Cartwright used Article 8 of the Human Rights Act to argue she had a right to "respect for her private and family life".

She also claimed she could not help making the loud noise during sex with her husband at their home in Hall Road, Concord, Washington, Tyne and Wear.

Their love making was described as "murder" and "unnatural" and drowned out their neighbours' televisions.

Neighbours said the Cartwrights' sex sessions would usually start around midnight and last for two or three hours, every night of the week.

Specialist equipment installed in a neighbour's flat by Sunderland City Council recorded noise levels of between 30 to 40 decibels, with the highest being 47 decibels.

At an earlier hearing Mrs Cartwright explained she was unable to control the noise she made during sex.

"I did not understand why people asked me to be quiet because to me it is normal. I didn't understand where they were coming from," she said.

"I have tried to minimise the situation by having sex in the morning - not at night - so the noise was not waking anybody.

"I may be sympathetic to it, but it is not something I am doing on purpose."

After her appeal failed, Cartwright admitted three charges of breaching the Asbo in December.

Accompanied by her husband she returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentence.

Judge Beatrice Bolton sentenced her to eight weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.

"An anti-social behaviour order was made against you in rather unusual terms," the judge told Cartwright.

"I've heard a very short extract of the noise you make and can well see that your neighbours would be upset and distressed by this.

"The difficulty here is that the first occurrence was the day following the order. Then three days later you breached it again.

"In addition it's quite clear from the small extract I heard that you made no attempt to silence yourself.

"Eight weeks in prison suspended for 12 months. It needs to be a prison sentence because you need to be deterred.

"Also if you commit further offences of this nature that sentence will be passed and you will made to serve it."