LONDON • Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page plays only acoustic guitars at home, afraid of any loud sounds possibly damaging his 19th-century Gothic-revival mansion in London.

When he heard about next-door neighbour Robbie Williams' plans to build an underground swimming pool, the news rocked him into action, given the vibration impact from construction work.

On Tuesday, he turned up at a planning committee meeting at Kensington town hall, saying: "I'm here to plead that you take all necessary measures to protect Tower House (his home) from the threat of harm it faces."

The councillors voted to defer giving permission to Williams, pending receipt of assurances about independent monitoring of vibration levels and ground movement from any construction work.

Billboard magazine cited Page as saying after the verdict: "I feel that I have got to do everything with all these sorts of haphazard things.

"I'm only the custodian, to pass it (the house) on to the next person in the same way I bought it from (actor) Richard Harris (in 1972)."