MEMBERS of the Malmesbury area board have been given a taste of the noise problems suffered by residents living near the Station Yard car park.

The meeting in the town hall on Thursday – the first as part of the new Wiltshire Council - was punctuated repeatedly by the sound of loud exhausts even as the issue of what to do about the antisocial behaviour of cruisers in the town was discussed.

It proved to be the hottest topic on the agenda.

At one point, when it was explained that the cars were road legal and that little could be done by police if the law was not being broken, North Wilts MP James Gray suggested Malmesbury Police make a full report to the Chief Constable of Wiltshire.

The MP, who has written to Brian Moore calling for urgent action on the problem, said once the chief had replied he would tackle the Home Secretary with the issue of antisocial exhaust noise.

Insp Steve Cox said a third public meeting with residents was in the pipeline. He said it was a low level crime issue for police. But he added: "We know the noise carries, we know the vehicles are quite loud. We want people to carry on reporting to us."

Town councillor Martyn Snell asked to be given some estimate of the time it would take to deal with the issue.

Insp Cox had to wait for the noise of an exhaust to fade before he could reply.

A lower high street resident complained: "My evenings are miserable. It is not only the Station Yard, it is around the town. There is a racetrack around the town.

"You should be imposing and actively seeking all remedies within the law to make this stop."

The inspector answered that targeted patrols were being carried out, but he stressed: "The police alone cannot solve the problems of antisocial behaviour."

On Monday Wiltshire councillor Simon Killane said work had already started to find a solution and the problem was going to be debated by the town council’s planning and environment committee with the police.

"There are options we need to discuss. One is to get another CCTV camera," he said. "It would be great use of CCTV, but we would have to work out where we would get the funding from."

He added that plans already drawn up to redesign the car park had not been seen by local councillors or the police and that needed to be changed,