NOISE busters at Bolton Council have come under fire for not responding quickly to complaints about loud neighbours.

Cllr Bob Ronson has called for a 24-hour noise control patrol to pull the plug on nuisance neighbours having loud parties.

And Cllr David Wilkinson said barbecues and all-night parties had caused hell for many neighbours over the summer.

He said by the time officers acted on the problem, it was often too late to stop them.

But Cllr Eric Johnson angrily defended officers, saying the criticisms were an "insult" to their hard work in dealing with the problem. Cllr Jack Foster, head of Environment and Planning which is in charge of noise control, said he would look into the complaints and find ways of improving the service.

He added that he recognised it was a serious problem.

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