TENSIONS between residents and uni students are close to boiling over as term time has resumed.

Homeowners in Hatfield have complained about rowdy parties and traffic chaos.

Resident Lee Montgomery said: “I have noisy students living next door, I’m sure I am not the only resident to have this problem but I think it has to stop now.

“I had trouble for all of the nine or 10 months they were here last time and I am not going to stand for it this year.

“We have pensioners on our block of houses where the wife has had to buy ear plugs to go to sleep at night.”

He called on students to do more to “integrate” and said that loud music was disrupting his 12-year-old daughter’s sleep.

Mr Montgomery added a student was “very abusive” when he went to ask them to turn the music down.

The familiar bugbear of students’ parking has also contributed to a souring of the relationship between them and other residents.

Another householder, who did not wish to be named, said: “I have just returned from a week’s holiday to find the students all seem to have moved back in.

“I see that you cannot get along Bishops Rise for parked cars. We were travelling behind a bus which had to mount the kerb in order to get around a bollard in the middle of the road.

“This is a repeat of last year’s traffic chaos and should not have been allowed to go on again this year.”

The resident warned: “It’s not a case of if an accident happens but when.”

A spokeswoman for the university said: “We will continue to urge students to respect their neighbours and we’re happy to work alongside residents to resolve any issues.

“If there are any particular problems neighbours are having, we ask them to contact our community partnership office where our dedicated team will be able to deal with any concerns.”

The spokeswoman also said there was a dedicated number for concerned residents to ring, 01707 285165, or email community@herts.ac.uk