People living in a block of flats have been forced to endure sleepless nights for months after “super sensitive” fire alarms were installed.

A new alarm system was introduced by Camden Council at Holly Lodge Estate in Highgate over the past 18 months, as part of wider works to improve fire safety.

Some on the estate have been unhappy with the works, which saw rooftop fire escapes blocked off after they were deemed "unsafe". 

Now those living at 149-164 Makepeace Mansion claim that the new alarm system is “too sensitive”, and often triggers for no apparent reason, sometimes multiple times in a day.

The Ham and High understands that the London Fire Brigade was called out to the estate at least 11 times over the first three months of the year.

On each of these occasions, crews established that the callout was a false alarm and there was no fire.

Leaseholder Jonathan Vickers said there had been a spate of alarms at the start of April with firefighters called out three times in one week, including twice on one day.

He added: “The sensors themselves are super, super sensitive.

“They seem to trigger from dust, or from somebody putting the kettle on or even down to it being windy outside. 

“People have lost complete trust in it and are not even leaving the building, which is very dangerous."

Krissie Easter, who bought her first London home in the block last summer, claimed the situation had become “ridiculous”.

She said: “The fire alarm is really stressful. It just goes off at random times.

“When it’s at night, it affects sleep – you can hear this beep throughout the whole flat.

“The fire brigade come out and they have to do a full investigation because they don’t want anyone burning alive.

“We then have people come to reset the alarm, which is great, but it would be good if they spent the time actually recognising that this number of callouts is indicative of a wider problem.”

Janet Anderson, who has lived on the ground floor of the block for 12 years, believes other blocks on the estate had been impacted by the same issue.

She added: “The alarms are not calibrated properly for the environment.

“Because people are refusing to leave their flats now, it’s almost worse than not having a system at all.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Since the fire alarm system was installed at Makepeace Mansion the alarms have been regularly tested and are operating correctly, however we are looking into why they were activated to prevent a similar issue in the future.”