Stereos, TVs, CD players and even a set of bongo drums seized by council noise enforcement officers are to be given away to charity.
 
The audio equipment has been confiscated by Brighton & Hove City Council following a blitz on noise nuisance in the city.
 
The council wants to give the equipment away to good causes and would like to hear from local groups who could put it to good use.
 
During the last 12 months, the council officers have seized a range of items from addresses across the city including televisions, stereos and CD players. The action followed complaints from residents about excessive noise and investigations by council enforcement officers.
 
Several of the cases have now been dealt with by Brighton & Hove Magistrates who awarded forfeiture of the equipment to the Council’s Environmental Health Team.
 
Among the items on offer are the bongo drums taken from noisy neighbour Sharon Nesbitt following a successful prosecution last year. Nesbitt was fined £2,000 after breaching a noise abatement notice.
 
Other prosecutions during the last year have included:
 
* Jamie Johnson and Janis Boucher who were each fined £350 and ordered to pay £600 costs after repeatedly disturbing their neighbours with shouting, banging and tuning up the volume on the TV and CD player.
 
* Amanda Millard who chose to play the Banana Splits theme tune and other music at full blast and landed a £250 fine.
 
* Noisy students Louis Pavlo and Owen Rowlands were given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay court costs after making their neighbours lives misery with loud music, while fellow student Laurence O’Toole was fined £500 and ordered to pay £750 after failing to attend court.
 
Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:
“I am pleased that magistrates have given our enforcement officers the power to seize audio equipment from these anti-social neighbours who have no regard for the distress they cause to others.
 
“Residents in Brighton & Hove should not have their peace and quiet spoilt by inconsiderate neighbours and our enforcement officers are working hard to ensure that offenders are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
 
“By donating these items to local worthy causes we hope something positive will come from these cases.”

Interested groups should send an email to:
ehl.environmentalprotection@brighton-hove.gov.uk