'Noise camera' aims to tackle roaring exhausts

A special traffic camera that records noise levels as well as car number plates is being trialled in a Devon town to try to crack down on nuisance driving and anti-social behaviour.

For a few years now, hoteliers and residents near the seafront in Paignton say they have been blighted by cars with adapted exhausts roaring along The Esplanade in the early hours of the morning.

The camera technology is being trialled by Devon and Cornwall Police, which also has one installed in Exmouth.

Campaigners said they were hopeful it would act as a deterrent and provide some more peace to the area.

Devon and Cornwall Police and Torbay Council have been trying to tackle the nuisance behaviour for a while, but there has been no regularity to the incidents, which has made it difficult to monitor.

Local hoteliers and residents captured some of the behaviour on mobile phones to use as evidence.

However, Insp Pete Giesens, of Paignton and Brixham Neighbourhood Police, said: "These cameras offer us a new edge that we haven't had before.

"We work closely with the council with their CCTV monitoring but, obviously, that has limitations in terms of recording audio. Essentially that's what these cameras do.

"They give us that footage to work with to build an evidential package together," he said.

Hoteliers and residents said they were delighted the camera had been installed.

"The police have stepped up to the mark and they've actually done a decent job," said Colin Hurst, secretary of the Paignton Town Community Partnership.

"We're now following that up as a community by engaging more with the council and the police to say: 'Well, there's a lot of other things that are actually going on, like shoplifting.'

"There's a lot of drug addiction and the knock-on effects of that.

"We're trying to bring about a more respectful society in Paignton and Torbay in general," he added.

Paignton is one of the designated hotspot policing areas in Devon and Cornwall, with a focus on anti-social behaviour.

This means the area has benefited from extra high-visibility police foot patrols, thanks to Home Office funding, as well as increased community engagement to tackle the problem.

Between 1 April and 31 December last year, there were 207 hours of officer foot patrol in Paignton town centre, which the force said had had a positive effect.

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez said: "Since residents and business owners in Paignton raised this issue, my team has been facilitating a conversation between the council and the police.

"If successful in Paignton, I would like to see further cameras being deployed across our two counties."

She added anti-social behaviour was "the issue people most frequently tell me they want the police to tackle and noisy driving can cause real damage to people's wellbeing and their livelihoods".

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