The mayor of Weymouth and Portland got inside a tank on Tuesday in order to draw attention to a little-known enemy.

The borough's first citizen, Councillor Joy Stanley, roared over a pile of stereos and television sets in a Chieftain tank, crushing the electrical items.

The demonstration in Weymouth was held to show people the noise problems that are caused by blaring radios, music centres, and TVs.

All the flattened items had been confiscated in the past two years by Weymouth and Porltand Council's environmental health department, and ordered to be destroyed.

Noise annoys

Tony Beason, the council's environmental health manager, said: "Noise problems caused by people playing loud music are on the increase.

"When solutions cannot be found through informal means, a council's environmental health unit has to use the various legal powers which are available.

"The seizure of stereos, speakers, and television sets is an action of last resort but normally stops the problem."

Mr Beason said the environmental health unit has a statutory duty to investigate complaints of noise nuisance.

Most incidents are remedied fairly quickly, usually by a warning letter.

Confiscation orders

Occasionally officers have to take action through the courts and prosecute persistent offenders.

If the problem persists, then after any successful prosecution the environmental health unit has the right to seize any equipment capable of causing a nuisance.

The procedure involves applying to the courts for forfeiture of the equipment, so that the offender cannot use it to cause a nuisance again.

The Chieftain Tank, dating from 1964, used to crush the electrical items was from Bovington Tank Museum in Weymouth.