RESIDENTS who live near an Okehampton nightclub say they are losing sleep from noise and disturbance from revellers leaving in the early hours of the morning.

The combination of noise and anti-social behaviour outside Rumours nightclub in Market Street has forced residents to appeal to Okehampton Town Council.

But the owner of the nighclub said much of the problem was caused by young people, who were not customers of the nightclub, hanging around in the area.

One resident also claimed that police patrolling the area were 'turning a blind eye' to the antics of some revellers.

At a meeting of the town council's policy and resources committee town clerk Don Bent told members of the frustrations of one nearby resident.

In a letter to the council the resident said: 'For myself and other people living near the club, disruption goes on well into the early hours.

'The customers tend to linger in town rather than heading straight home, which has led to many broken windows in Red Lion Yard, doorways being used as urinals, and of course, to further lack of sleep for the local residents.

'I read with interest in the Times several months ago, that the local police had been given carte blanche to deal with "the night time economy" but evidence of this is non-existent; they seem to turn a blind eye to the whooping, shouting and other chaos caused by late night revellers in the town centre.'

The resident said he had notified West Devon Borough Council of the noise.

Cllr Kay Bickley told members some of the issues had to be dealt with by the borough council on licensing and environmental health grounds and that the town council needed to look into the 'luke warm response of the local constabulary'.

Cllr David Weekes, who had spoken to nearby residents, said: 'Things are getting worse. People not only have to put up with the noise from the nightclub, especially when it starts to empty, they then have to put up with staff, 3.30 in the morning, starting to empty bottles into a skip. It's really loud. I know some elderly people who have to wear ear plugs it's so bad.'

The committee asked the town clerk to write to West Devon concerning the noise on environmental health grounds and licensing conditions; it would also raise the matter with police Supt Sarah Sharpe, send a copy to Insp Peter Turner at Okehampton and ask the management of Rumours to empty the bottles at a reasonable time.

Insp Turner said: 'I am very disappointed to hear of the perceived lack of police action, and can only reiterate that this is one of the identified policing priorities within Okehampton Town and police staff are working tirelessly to provide the service expected and deserved by the community.'

He said police recently initiated partnership work with licencees to regenerate the town pub watch scheme, allowing for the banning of troublemakers on licensed premises, and they were working with the council in setting up an alcohol-free zone within the town.

'Both these measures are specifically aimed at targeting rowdy and anti-social behaviour within the town centre and reducing the fear of crime in the community. Minor misdemeanours are dealt with proportionately, often by way of words of advice, thereby providing a visible deterrent at the key times and ensuring the safety of the public.'

Nikki Francis, the owner of Rumours, said the noise of bottles being thrown into skips happened only once and staff had been told they must now sort bottles inside the building.

She said it was unfair to assume it was their customers leaving who were creating a nuisance as she said there were many who passed that way, leaving domestic parties, and groups of teenagers hang around, even at 3am.

'There is a huge problem with teenagers who are too young to be allowed in the club, and who hang around outside. They've got nothing else to do, and cause trouble.'

Ms Francis, who comes from Okehampton and whose mother, Pat Snell, was a former town councillor, said the club, which had been open since 1992, has had no real problems with disorder and was trying to operate a peaceful, friendly, fun place for the people of the town to enjoy. It was also doing its best to keep noise and disturbance to a minimum.

A member of Pub Watch in Okehampton, she said it was important for the community to work together to create a peaceful environment in the town.

She would also like to see the building used at other parts of the day for more community events, perhaps for charity or by use by the elderly.