CUTBACKS in Waverley services to turn down the volume on rowdy neighbours could be restricted to summer Saturday nights only, if new proposals are accepted.

The plans dramatically to reduce Waverley Borough Council's out-of-hours noise service came under fire at Tuesday night's meeting of its executive committee.

The money saved, an estimated £18,000, would be spent on environmental health including inspections, enforcement actions, and advice and guidance to the public

Lib Dem Dr Anthony Newton claimed the cutback was "part of a disturbing pattern in Waverley".

"Apart from Saturday nights in summer, it seems you can make whatever horrendous noise you like. You could even let off a bomb!" said a disapproving Dr Newton .

Dr Newton criticised the Conservative council's approach to making cuts to certain services to improve others.

"If instrumentation of these proposals is necessary, it is necessary, but you cannot do this and provide a complete service," he said.

Fellow Lib Dem Dr Rosemary Thomas said she supported Dr Newton and went on to comment that Waverley had come second from last in a national review of environmental health services.

"The out-of-hours call out service can act as a deterrent against this type of noise pollution, but this proposal lets people know they can go out and make a lot of noise on a Friday or any other week night without recrimination," added Dr Thomas.

Portfolio holder for the environment and leisure John Sandy said: "The majority of calls we receive about noise pollution are on Saturday nights between the times set out in the proposal and during the summer."

The current "react and respond" service which residents can use at during the night of weekends from Easter to the end of September and bank holidays will now only cover Saturday nights from June to September. This service ensures that after receiving a noise complaint, Waverley can serve a statutory abatement notice which prohibits the person from causing the nuisance again.

The committee voted in agreement with officer recommendations to reduce the out-of-hours service.