NOISY Nelson residents have had stereo equipment and televisions seized from their home.

Police joined Pendle Council noise nuisance officials as they visited the property in Castle Street following complaints from neighbours about loud music and loud singing on a daily basis.

One environmental health officer who went out to the property to witness the disturbances said the noise nuisance was one of the worst he had ever experienced.

It is understood that among the tracks being blasted out on the karaoke system were Don’t Stop Believin' by the Glee cast, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and various Oasis tracks.

Two large televisions, a DVD player, a set of speakers and karaoke equipment were taken away by the council, which has the legal powers to take items being used to cause the nuisance under the Noise Act.

Following an initial complaint from neighbours, evidence was gathered via the Night Time Noise Service, a partnership between Pendle Council and four other East Lancashire councils.

A noise abatement notice was served on the occupants of the house, but still the noise continued.

Coun David Clegg, who represents the council’s environmental health department, said: “Noise nuisance impacts on all aspects of our quality of life causing stress and anxiety.

"Cases like this highlight the powers that councils have under the Environmental Protection Act to address problems caused by noisy neighbours.

“Residents at this property had ignored warnings that they would have their equipment seized if they did not turn the noise down.

“Since they were not in when our noise nuisance officers visited, the police helped us get into the property.

"This has caused the residents of the property additional inconvenience since they had to collect new keys to their home from the police station. Hopefully they’ll think twice about turning up the volume again.

“No-one should have to put up with noisy neighbours."

The councillor encouraged anybody having problems with noise caused by their neighbours to ring 01282 661199.

Residents will need to collect evidence to help the council with their investigation. This can be done by downloading the Noise Nuisance App onto your smartphone – search for ‘noise nuisance’ in the App Store or Google Play.

This allows residents to record noise as it happens, building up a diary of evidence to validate any noise complaint. It can then be sent to the council.

For more information, visit www.noisenuisance.org or type Noise Nuisance App into YouTube.