YOUNG musicians in New Marske have had their rehearsal time cut back - because they are too loud.

The teenagers, aged between 15 and 19, pay by the hour to practise at the Jubilee Hall, but last week the committee reduced their playing time from five hours to just 90 minutes.

Lynn Woodcock, mother of one of the musicians, said: "We feel quite disillusioned because our kids are using their own initiative and doing something positive with their time in an area where there isn't much for teenagers to do.

"They even moved to a smaller room on the other side of the hall when someone complained about noise."

Sheila Argument, chairman of the Jubilee Hall committee, said it had to take local residents' concerns into consideration.

"We took the decision to reduce the time the kids could practice to an hour and a half because of pressure from local people," she said.

"We received a petition with ten signatures from the residents of Pear Tree Court and also from a gentleman who lives next to the hall who has attended two of our meetings and thinks the music is far too loud.

"It is a community hall and we do want all aspects of the community to be able to use it, especially as it is not used during the day, but we have to take residents' concerns into consideration."

Mrs Woodcock said: "One and a half hours just isn't enough. It takes them that long to set up the drum kit and the guitars."