WEEKEND noise crackdown teams in York have seen the number of calls they receive and visits they make rise this year.

Figures have shown that City of York Council’s noise patrol officers, who operate between 9pm and 3am on Friday and Saturday nights, were called 806 times between the start of April and mid-November, a 6.3 per cent rise on the same period in 2012.

They also visited 388 premises, a 15.1 per cent increase, during a year which has seen them start using a near-silent electric car and new technology which means they can stay “in the field” when dealing with complaints.

Throughout 2012/13, the patrol had 1,148 calls and made 611 visits, ten per cent more than the year before, with the council serving 29 noise abatement notices, spotting seven breaches of notices and carrying out four seizures of noisy equipment as a result.

Extra patrols were staged during freshers’ weeks, Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night.

Coun Linsay Cunningham-Cross, cabinet member for crime and stronger communities, said: “Excessive and persistent noise is a genuine nuisance and the noise patrol team is renowned for the role it plays in helping to reduce this problem.”

The council’s environment protection unit – which received 1,631 noise complaints in 2012/13, down from 1,824 in 2011/12 – and noise patrol service can be phoned on 01904 551555.