Noisy neighbours were today warned: "Turn it down or face the courts."

The warning came as a summer clampdown on nuisance noise began across the district.

The number of complaints has soared as people who leave windows and doors open to stay cool are then disturbed by powerful hi-fis and televisions.

Bradford Council environmental health officers are tackling about six complaints a day and they are taking a tougher line with rowdy residents.

Since April, they have made eight seizures of sound equipment - two in the past week - in response to complaints about noisy neighbours. In a recent case in Bankfoot, Bradford, a man was fined £150 and ordered to pay £600 in costs and had his hi-fi system and television seized for constantly playing loud music at his home.

In another, one resident could hear the football scores through her walls because the neighbour's television was so loud.

In that case, environmental officers went into both homes, linked up on mobile phones and adjusted the volumes to suit everyone at an agreed level before it got to court.

Kate Lett, a Bradford Council environmental health manager, said the clampdown was all about consideration. But she said if warnings were ignored tough action, seizures and fines would follow.

She said: "It is all about having consideration for your neighbours. We have the powers to resolve most noise problems."

Teresa Hartley, of Briarfield Road, who lives opposite flats in Valley Road, Shipley, said: "Night after night in this sunny weather, all we can hear is Bob Marley blaring out of the flat windows.

"The music can go on as late as 1am which is very annoying."

In the last year more than 2,000 complaints were received with 74 abatement notices served across the district under the Environment Protection Act 1990.

Figures show about 70 per cent of noise complaints were neighbour-related.

More than 800 complaints were about domestic noise, 390 were about barking dogs, 170 about burglar alarms and 320 related to industrial and commercial noise.

Officers say they try to find an amicable resolution between neighbours first but will use enforcement powers if this fails.

These include abatement notices, confiscation of equipment and removal of animals for the worst offenders.

Officers also have the power to make a forced entry into houses and cars to silence burglar alarms. Fines can reach £5,000 for an individual or £20,000 for a business.

Sometimes the evidence of an environmental officer will contribute towards an Anti-Social Behaviour Order being granted by the courts.

A police spokesman said the noise issues were usually left with environmental health officers unless there was a threat of violence accompanying it.

A spokesman said: "We would not respond to a call to do with a loud party unless there was a threat with it."

Insp Nigel Cawthorne, of Keighley Police, said: "We do get more calls at this time of year.

"It's not often we get good weather like this and people are bound to want to enjoy it, but it's just a case of being considerate.

"People should be allowed to have a good time so long as music is not being played too loud or too late."

Miss Lett said: "The first port of call for any complaint is to try to resolve it amicably by talking to both sides.

"In cases of severe noise we will investigate immediately. If we witness the noise ourselves then we can serve an abatement notice and seize sound equipment. However, we prefer to take the least severe course of formal action."

The Council advises residents to:

l be aware if neighbours are elderly, work shifts or have young children

l keep TV and music volumes down especially after 11pm

l if having party or barbecue ask guests to leave quietly

l do not sound car horns, slam doors or run engines loudly

l do not leave dogs on their own for a long time, arrange for someone to visit and check on them regularly.

The numbers of complaints is rising every year due to people being more protective of their leisure time.

Miss Letts said: "People work so much harder these days that they really enjoy the leisure time that they get so any impact on this by neighbourhood noise is less acceptable to them.

"Also the way technology has developed has meant a lot of people now have quite powerful sound systems with even TVs capable of causing quite severe nuisance."

The Council's noise complaint hotline is (01274) 434366.