Fife home fined £100 over noise

The noise teams have been patrolling in Dunfermline town centre

Late night revellers are being warned to keep the volume down as a Dunfermline home became the first in Fife to fall foul of new noise rules.

The household was fined £100 after failing to heed warnings on Tuesday morning from Fife Council's new noise officers to turn music down.

The noise team, which was set up earlier this year, works between 1730 and 0330.

The team has received about 1,100 complaints since mid-July.

Warning system

Complaints ranged from late night DIY, barking dogs to loud music and people shouting whilst at barbeques running late into the night.

Complaints are passed to the noise team from the police and the team initially investigate and ask people to keep the noise down.

If the first verbal warning is ignored, and if the team feels the noise levels will persist, a formal warning notice is issued.

Some people are quite apologetic but unfortunately, in this instance, the teams' advice and warnings have been ignored and the householder has rightly been penalised for their inconsiderate actions Councillor Andrew Keddie Fife Council

Councillor Andrew Keddie, Fife Council chairman of the community safety committee, said: "We're not trying to spoil people's fun or enjoyment, but excessive noise at any time of day, let alone the wee small hours, can torment people and is essentially an anti-social behaviour.

"Up until now, the team have found most people to be very understanding and they respond well and co-operate when asked to turn down the volume or stop what they're doing.

"Some people are quite apologetic but unfortunately, in this instance, the teams' advice and warnings have been ignored and the householder has rightly been penalised for their inconsiderate actions."

If a fixed penalty is issued, people have 28 days to pay the £100 or risk being reported to the procurator fiscal and possible criminal conviction.

If anyone wants to report late night noise nuisance to the noise team they can do so by contacting their local police station or police contact centre.