Wigan residents' fury over sound barriers which block out their sunlight.

Iris Western, 76, is among those Bryn householders who have seen baffles placed between their homes and the M6.

They came as a particular surprise to Iris because she claims to have never been troubled by the noise from the motorway or know of anyone in the area that has.

Following two major operations including removal of her kidney due to cancer, Iris now has significant difficulty getting around.

As a result she spends the majority of her day in her conservatory or garden to pass the time.

Iris said: “I rely on the light and the sun. I’m sitting here on my own all day every day.

“I’ve no family, all I have is my garden and this will seriously limit the light I get throughout the day.

"The light often helps warm my conservatory up which would help me limit my energy use, which would be so important in the current climate.”

Due to the size of the barriers, Iris believes that this may breach her right to light – which “gives a long-standing owner of a building with windows a right to maintain an adequate level of illumination.”

Iris questioned whether it would be possible to adjust where the sound barriers are placed.

An issue of the lack of sun that may come with the installation of sound barriers is the moss that will grow and become slippy.

Due to Iris’s limited mobility it would not be safe for her to enter her garden without it being cleared first.

The limited space in Iris’s garden also causes more of an issue to her as surrounding houses have a much longer gardens, so the barriers do not affect their sunlight as much.

Another resident in the area, Mary Moore who lives on Chantry Walk with her disabled husband Jim has also spoken of her unhappiness over the recent installation.

Mary said: “We feel like we’re in prison, it’s just not fair.

“My husband can’t go out and enjoy walks so we rely heavily on our back garden.”

Neighbour Marlene Peters said: “I have a relatively big garden but the boards are still blocking my view.

"I used to be able to look across the fields prior to these being put in place. The sound is just the same too, it hasn’t changed anything.

“They’re unsightly and devalue the property considerably. No one would want to live here when there is no view whatsoever from the back garden.”

A spokesperson for the National Highways said: “We informed residents of our plans to install the 4m barriers in 2016 and again in early 2022. We received no comments or concerns about their height from residents in the Bryn area.

"We are committed to tackling road noise and are sorry to hear that some residents are unhappy with the measures we have taken to improve noise levels in their area.”