It's like the ‘blitzkrieg' of sleepy Matua. And it's doing David Tustin's head in.

The sirens go up, 'clear the buildings” instructs a disembodied voice, there's panic in the bedrooms and David lies there waiting for the Heinkels to arrive.

Over the wailing wall: David Tustin outside Matua Primary School.

They don't, of course, but the sleep deprivation is just as bad and just as damaging, according to the Matua local.

The assault on the senses comes from wayward fire and security alarms at Matua Primary School over the fence.

'I've had enough!” says David. 'Although I suspect it's a problem that's not going away.”

Thursday, February 19 was especially torturous. David claims the school alarm went off four times between 6pm and 7pm. Shortly before midnight they went off again. And then again at 2am before a wake-up call at 6am.

You need to hear it to believe it, says David.

'A booming crescendo, rising and falling followed by that voice urging: ‘Clear the building, clear the building!' – then, back to the crescendo.”

David heads for the air raid shelter – in his case under the pillow.

'And this goes on for half an hour while we wait for the fire brigade,” he adds.

David reckons up to 200 neighbours could be affected.

'It's got worse over the last five years,” he explains. 'The equipment they're installing is much louder than it used to be. And last month alone the alarms would have gone off 30 or 40 times.”

The neighbours have to wait up to 20 minutes for the burglar alarms to be switched off and half-an-hour for the brigade to sort things if there's a fire alarm.

And when the alarms stop and the kids are ‘in situ', the school radio bursts into full voice through external speakers and across the entire bleary-eyed suburb.

'The girl's hockey team will meet at midday” and 'The Maori club will meet at 12.30pm” it blares.

David says it's the sort of stuff the whole of Tauranga does not need to know about. 'And if it came on now you would not hear me speaking to you,” he says. 'Why is this being forced on the school's neighbours?”

Before you even get the question out, David fires back. 'We have! We have taken it up with the school – several times over the years.”

The caretaker was apparently the first to respond. 'He popped over to apologise last year.”

Then David got what he describes as a 'very loose” note from the top – the Matua Primary Board of Trustees.

'Notice to neighbours” it said. But it contained little joy.

'The Board of Trustees would like to take this opportunity to apologise for recent issues with the school security alarms. A sensor was found to be faulty and has been replaced.”

But no guarantees of peace and quiet.

David says the message went on about how there'd been active vandalism around the school at night and during the weekend 'and appealed to us to keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour”.

So the school's expecting support and understanding from neighbours they are keeping sleepless?

'They've certainly tested our goodwill,” adds David. 'There have been so many false alarms I don't think the neighbours even raise their heads when the alarms go off.”

The Weekend Sun took the matter up with Matua Primary, and Principal Tracy Lloyd fired back this dispatch.

'School response to alarm activations” it declared. 'The school acknowledges there has been a spate of noisy security and fire alarms that have been activated recently.”

Tracy blamed a faulty sensor for one clangour (my word not his), some 'undesirables” lurking around the school for another alarm and water getting into a fire switch for a third.

So what are you doing about it Tracy?

'We have apologised to the community.”

An apology doesn't guarantee sleep, however. 'Each year the school's alarm sensors are checked, cleaned and replaced if needed.” And this will continue, says Tracy.

But what about the infernal racket being endured by David et al?

'We are investigating whether we can eliminate some noise by getting the external speakers turned down.” A simple solution to one problem but it doesn't guarantee sleep.

And Tracy suspects there may be some 'legal ramifications” around turning down the fire alarms.

Tracy says the school is 'aware of the noise pollution and will continue to do what it can to minimise this”.

The school reiterated it relies on the community and appreciates its support.

Tracy's email probably tells us David isn't exaggerating, isn't overly-sensitive and not 'a bit cranky” as was suggested to The Weekend Sun by one person.

'I've lived beside a school elsewhere and never had to endure this,” says David.

And there's a little irony with his situation.

'I drive a school bus,” he says, 'have done for six years. I deliver 50 to 60 children to and from school each day. I need my sleep to do my job safely and responsibly.”