THE residents of Shotton were left bleary eyed by late-night repairs to a railway line.
Network Rail are carrying out routine maintenance to a stretch of track – ironically including re-sleepering.
Work began at about 9.20pm on Tuesday and continued until dawn on Wednesday.
One Plymouth Street resident says she was woken up at 2am by a series of loud bangs and a constant whirring sound.
She said: “I looked out of my window and the sky was aglow.
“At first I thought it might have been a car fire and I was so worried that I called the fire service. The noise was loud enough to keep me awake for another two hours.
“I live about a two-minute walk from the station, but we were not given a warning about any works.”
Shotton town councillor Elwyn Jones said he was pre-warned about the maintenance works, but was still annoyed by the noise.
He said: “It is a constant background noise, like a rumbling.
“It sounded like a car was parked right outside my house with its engine running and I felt like I was going mad.
“I believe letters were sent to people living in the Chester Close and Caernarfon Close and it sounds like it is necessary work.”
Network Rail say the work in Shotton is part of a four-mile stretch of track to be repaired and is expected to be completed tomorrow.
A spokesman said: “It was routine maintenance overnight in the Shotton area. They started at 9.20pm and it went on until 7.50am the next morning.
“They were doing flail mowing, re-sleepering, rail adjustments and rail defects.
“Network Rail apologises to local residents for any inconvenience caused by these works, which are essential track renewals and repairs designed to maintain the infrastructure of the railway.”