The people who suffer most from snoring are usually the people who share a bed with the snorer. There can be a variety of causes to snoring such as being overweight which can cause sleep conditions such as sleep apnoea and breathing difficulties. Smoking can damage the respiratory system and alcohol can limit the reactions of the throat muscles. There is a range of other causes such as sleeping position, allergies and nostril sizes but fundamentally the result is the same; loud, annoying snoring.

Depending on the particular type of snoring of an individual sufferer, there are many snoring treatments available and each is but results are vague and chronic sufferers don't tend to have much luck.

The loudest snorer in Britain was named as Jenny Chapman of Peterborough. When all other treatments had failed she decided to offer herself for a study and was found to have a constant snore volume of 111.6 decibels. That's roughly the same volume as a low flying jet or a pneumatic drill. It is so loud that she regularly wakes herself up and her husband Colin has spent the 18 years they have been married sleeping in the spare room.

Mrs Chapman has tried all sorts of remedies and made countless visits to the doctor over the years; she has even considered surgery as an option. Eventually she took part in a two day snoring 'boot camp' at the Hilton Warwick Hotel where she was discovered to be the loudest of six chronic snorers.

Another woman and four other men were included in the study and Chapman, 60, was told by experts she was the loudest they had ever heard. "It was a bit embarrassing to be told in front of everyone" she said, "I can sympathise with my husband now who is always complaining".

She was recommended a healthier lifestyle but Chapman remarked "I won't be giving up alcohol totally just yet - that's too much to ask.