ACTIONS speak louder than words and when Maria Fuller staged a one-woman protest her homemade banners spoke volumes.

The determined mother-of-two took to the streets of Manchester to campaign for action over the level of noise produced by Metrolink tracks.

Kitted out with 8ft tall posters and one sandwich board over her head, Mrs Fuller stood silently outside GMPTE (Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive) headquarters in Portland Street on Tuesday afternoon (Dec 16).

Her messages read: "Stop the patching up: replace the 40-year-old Manchester to Bury line", "£520M from the Government: no more noisy line: set a deadline!" and "The World Health Organisation wants 60 decibels, Metrolink give us 99 decibels."

As reported in the Bury Times, Mrs Fuller, of Cedar Grove, Prestwich, has long campaigned for tighter noise and vibration control and a new track on the Bury to Altrincham line.

Mrs Fuller lives directly next to the tram line and earlier this year her home was voted the noisiest in Britain. Her health has suffered due to the level of noise and she has spent more than £300 on preventative measures.

After meeting with Metrolink bosses, corresponding with GMPTE and submitting an 80-name petition for action, Mrs Fuller decided to take some drastic action of her own. She said: "I didn't feel comfortable standing there and I have never staged a public protest before, but I think it was worth it and I would do it again if I had to. I stood there for a couple of hours. Passers-by asked what I was doing and they gave me a lot of support, it was quite encouraging."

Mrs Fuller was eventually approached by someone from inside the building, who asked if she would like a meeting on Thursday with Geoff Inskip, the deputy director general of GMPTE and project director for Metrolink.

She said: "I was gobsmacked and it threw me for a minute but I was really grateful for the meeting."

She added: "GMPTE have agreed that the work will be done to replace the 40-year-old track, but they won't give a date. They say it will be done under the new contract but that does not start until the end of next year and lasts 25 years.They have to go one step further and commit to doing it sooner."

Mr Inskip said: "I am very sorry that Mrs Fuller felt she had to protest outside our offices: we have been in continuous dialogue with her for some time now and have always shown ourselves willing to discuss her concerns."

Mr Inskip said: "We have received correspondence from several of Mrs Fuller's immediate neighbours stating that they were content to live there, regardless of the tram. They failed to see why Mrs Fuller was not satisfied with GMPTE's response and understood that the upgrade of the tramlines will not happen overnight."

GMPTE have yet to select a preferred bidder for the new concession but Mr Inskip said both bidders had firm plans for upgrading the line and work should be done early in the life of the concession.