NOISY neighbours can make life hell for those living nearby but residents often know little about how to tackle the problem. We spoke to those on both sides of the noise debate.

TO SOME people the thought of rap music blaring out of a stereo at all hours of the day might be a pleasing one, but for residents of one East Lancashire street it became a living nightmare.

For almost two years, people living in Cliff Street, Rishton, prayed that noisy neighbour Tracey Kirby would turn the volume down on her constant barrage of Madonna tracks and rap music.

In the end their prayers were seemingly answered when her hi-fi was confiscated by Hyndburn Council's Night-Time Noise Nuisance Team.

For other Cliff Street residents such as Dave Schofield, 33, the constant drone of pop music had made life unbearable, but the failings of the council's policy were highlighted shortly after the seizure by the fact that Kirby was able to go straight out and buy a new stereo.

For Mr Schofield the situation has now become almost unbearable.

He said: "She was here when we moved in and she was all right at first.

"My daughter's 11 now, but when it all started she was only about eight and all the shouting and swearing and noise really frightened her.

"We have been trying to stick it out and get her to move but the police say there's not much chance of that because she owns the house."

Kirby has since made assurances that she'll keep the noise down, a statement residents will only believe when they see it backed up.

She said: "It was a bit drastic taking all my stuff - I came home from hospital to find that everything had been taken.

"I don't know why people are saying they have been threatened, though - they've never complained to me.

"I had a lot of music - a life's worth of stuff I've been collecting since I was about 10 years old. I will try to be quieter from now on."

The council has subsequently vowed to monitor the situation regarding Kirby and said that if she uses the stereo responsibly there is little they can do in the way of action.

But this attitude that has struck a chord of discontent with Accrington councillor Coun Graham Jones, who claims he is receiving regular calls from residents in the Peel ward whose lives are being made a misery by the steady high volume drone emitting from nearby houses.

He said: "I have had two noise complaints in recent weeks.

"One was in Derby Street, Accrington, and the other close by.

"They are fed up with loud music that's being played in the early hours of the morning, especially on Friday and Saturday nights."

And Coun Jones said more needed to be done to tackle the problem of noisy neighbours.

He added: "It's a shocking state of affairs when people are being kept up all night and I would like to see something done about it.

"Maybe we should be giving these people ASBOs and tell them they can't play music.

"I'm being phoned at three in the morning asking if I can help people who are blighted by noise.

"What can I do? It should be up to the police and council to deal with these people properly."

While individual residents can be a concern, others in the firing line of legislation feel they are being targeted unfairly.

In the last week a Blackburn landlord was fined karaoke nights that were deemed as being too loud by magistrates.

However, Gerry and Rita Bell, of the Moorgate Arms, Livesey Branch Road, claim the fine - which totalled £3,600 with costs - was another nail in the coffin of the traditional British boozer.

Their Friday and Saturday karaoke nights saw all manner of legendary acts mimicked and the couple have vowed to appeal.

Mr Bell said: "We run the Moorgate for the community and we work hard to keep it clean, tidy and respectable."

And the Bell's case has won sympathy from other landlords who have faced similar opposition from residents, particularly now that smokers have been forced out on to the street.

Brian Smith, landlord of the Knuzden Brook, Knuzden, lost a retrospective planning application for an outdoor shelter after complaints by residents that noise levels were to high late at night from people using the shelter.

Mr Smith said: "I want to make the pub family orientated because we got a lot more children in here now with their parents because it's a smoke-free zone.

"I wanted to make some where that was nice to sit in during the summer but apparently residents have said there is a lot of noise.

"We have to do this now to fight the effects of the smoking ban yet we are not being helped at all.

"If someone had a problem with noise they should have come to me to discuss it."

For those intent on tackling noise though there is plenty of advice at hand, especially on the internet.

Neighbours From Hell In Britain (NFHIB) is one such website that give step-by-step advice on what to when it comes to those who are being noisy at the detriment of others.

Available at www.nfh.org.uk, the website encourages people to keep a diary of their noisy neighbours and the times when they are proving to be a real nuisance.

If the problem continues, it advises them to get in touch with their environmental health department and seek an abatement notice.

This can stipulate that all music should be stopped or restricted to certain times.

According to NFHIB, if this order is broken then fines of up to £5,000 can be handed out to offenders in an attempt to pull the plug on nuisance neighbours once and for all.