A SAMBA BAND has been drummed out of a community hall following complaints from Lerryn villagers that they are too loud.

For the past two years, ten-piece drumming band Los Samba has met regularly to practise at the Lerryn Memorial Hall – but has now been told not to come back after nearby residents complained.

Instead, some locals have banged their own drum in a bid for peace to return to the tranquil beauty spot.

It means Los Samba has been forced to decamp down the road to Lostwithiel School.

As a result the group, which attracts drummers from both the local area and further afield, has already lost two members and is struggling to make beautiful music in its less acoustically equipped new practice space, and raise enough money to buy equipment which needs replacing.

Band maestro Mel Pratt, 40, who lives in Barn Park, Lostwithiel, said the members were saddened by their ban from the community hall, which was rebuilt through a Lottery grant and community donations.

As far as Los Samba were aware only one person complained, said the band's leader.

"My take on it is that it's a community space and we're a community band for all ages and groups and all walks of life," she said. "We should be allowed to practise in the hall.

"Our aim is to bring the community together and have fun.

"We need community spirit back in the village. We complied with everything they asked us to do to minimise the noise – we closed the curtains, the windows and the doors – but we were still ousted."

The group even stopped practising on a Sunday in a bid to silence the complaints.

Mrs Pratt said the band's ban was just another example of the loss of community activities – despite many Lerryn residents supporting them.

She added: "Cornwall is moving into an age of OAPs; all the teenagers are leaving because there is nothing left here for them."

However, Marguerite Batt, who lives in School Lane, near the memorial hall, said the sound was "very, very intrusive" to a great many people on occasions during the summer months, and could even be heard over televisions.

She said she had "every sympathy" for the band's need to practise but had spoken to other villagers who felt the same about the noise.

"It was just unfortunate for them that they landed on Lerryn's Memorial Hall, given the proximity of properties and that sound carries so readily in the river valley," she said.

Johnny Pusey, landlord of the Ship Inn, said: "I think it's really sad. There aren't many places where the youngsters can go to express themselves.

"They were a very good local focal point; we've got very little in this village."

The village's popular mud rugby, played in the estuary at low tide, and the May Day pole event, where neighbouring villages tried to steal one another's May Day poles, had already been stopped because of health and safety.

David Vipond, chair of the Lerryn Village Hall committee, said the committee voted not to renew the group's booking beyond Christmas because of the complaints.

He had even had villagers calling him on the telephone and making him listen to the band from their gardens, he said, and other people using the hall had said they couldn't hear each speak. "It's defeating the purpose of having a village hall if it disadvantages the local people," he said.

Los Samba, which runs courses all over the county, including workshops for people with learning difficulties, and appears at festivals and fêtes, is now looking for a venue which is closer to its members' homes and cheaper to hire, and where its activities won't upset the neighbours.

To help, call Richard Morris on 01208 872963.