From Bath to Weybridge and Winchester to Lytham St Annes, padel’s ‘gunfire-like’ acoustics are making locals seethe

Across the affluent suburbs and well-heeled country towns and cities of England the sound of “gunfire” – or the fear of it – has been ringing out in recent months. From Bath to Weybridge and Winchester to Lytham St Annes a street battle of sorts has been waged as desirable neighbourhoods seek to repel what they see as a menacing new threat to the peace: the sport of padel.

“When the best players play, I can only describe it as like a bullet going right by you,” says Nick Christou, whose garden is a few yards from two padel courts at Hazelwood sports club in Enfield, north London.