Budget supermarket chain Lidl reopened its Romford store today, to the immense relief of neighbours who say they have endured months of late night disruption.

Havering Council said it was investigating a noise complaint and breach of planning conditions at the site – but Lidl told the Recorder it had done its best to “keep disruption to a minimum”.

Rhonda May, 57, has lived in Regarth Avenue, bordering the supermarket site in Atlanta Avenue, for 10 years.

Ms May said work to refurbish and expand the shop front had “wrecked her life”, saying she had been woken up on several occasions at 4.30am by noisy construction work.

“I am not able to sleep. It goes on all night long, lorries coming in and out – they dig the ground and clean the tarmac at 10.30pm,” she said.

“This summer I couldn’t even go in my garden because there was so much dust but the noise was the worst.”

Ms May, who works as a delivery driver six days a week, said that the supermarket chain has breached its planning conditions, which prevented work on Sundays and outside of 8am and 6pm on weekdays “in order to protect residential amenity”.

The planning permission was granted for the site earlier this year and allowed for extended delivery hours on weekdays from 7am to 10pm.

Sandra Stimpson, who lives in the flat above Ms May’s, said she was also “suffering the long saga of Lidl and the noise of the workmen and delivery times”.

Video evidence of cranes and work going on at 9.45pm and 10.40pm was seen by the Recorder.

An email from a Lidl customer service spokesman received by another resident who lodged a complaint said he was “extremely disappointed to hear of the disruptions” and had passed on the complaint to the facility manager for an investigation to take place.

A spokeswoman from Lidl’s head office said: “We have done our best to keep disruption to a minimum in the lead-up to the opening and would like to thank the local community for their patience during the works.”

Ms May called for some form of compensation for the disturbances caused. She also complained to Havering Council for not enforcing the condition of the planning permission.

A council spokesman said noise evidence had not been presented in the right format but that complaints were now being dealt with and an investigation was under way. Havering Council also served a notice on Lidl to control their construction and building work.

Cabinet member for regulatory services, Cllr Osman Dervish, added: “We take breaches of these conditions very seriously and take action where necessary.”