Residents of a Winchester council estate say their lives have been blighted since a new intake of students moved in.

People living at one end of the cul de sac, Fivefields Road, Highcliffe, including several young families, say they are suffering sleepless nights due to all night-partying and live under the constant threat of noise, as students, who occupy half a dozen homes in the road, return after a night out.

Residents are also complaining that the number of cars in the street has increased dramatically, making it difficult for other vehicles to manoeuvre.

Mother-of-two, Sandra Chamberlain (31), said: "I go to bed thinking, will they do it again? You never know what's going to happen. I just can't sleep sometimes."

Her husband, Simon, also 31, said the family had been in the street for eight years, and had lived near students before, but this was the noisiest he'd known it. "They just don't seem to understand that when they move into a house, they are actually moving into a community."

Sandra, who says her two children, Jordan (10) and Kerry (8), are affected by lack of sleep, said she's also worried about the number of cars.

"There are three or four parked cars parked outside - it's not a normal amount. The students park everywhere and they are reluctant to move when you ask them. They don't seem to worry that there might be children round here."

Another family with young children, said the situation with their neighbours was so bad that they had taken to leaving the street and spending the night away when they had been warned of a party.

Winchester Member of Parliament, Mark Oaten, was contacted by chairman of the Highcliffe Community Action Group, Ron Cassidy, and urged to meet with residents affected.

Mr Oaten has contacted residents' groups, the police, and the city council, but he warned that any solution could take time.

The city council confirmed that it had supplied sound monitoring equipment to one family in Fivefields Road so it could record nuisance noise levels.

Luke Hughes (20), who lives in one of the houses, said most of the students were from Sparsholt College, while another property housed students from Winchester School of Art.

Landlord, Ian Veazey, who owns one of the properties, said he was aware of complaints about one house in Fivefields Road, but his tenants had denied the accusations.

"We have spoken to the students many times. They are aware of the problem and do all they can to minimise it."

A city council spokesman said: "We want to resolve this problem and we have been working hard to do that since September."

Nic Robinson, assistant principal at Sparsholt College, said they had received a complaint from one resident.

"We have spoken with the individuals concerned and they have been advised that they need to behave responsibly but deny causing a problem.

"Clearly we are responsible for our students. However, this is a private let by a group of individuals who happen to attend the college as students."