RESIDENTS in the Hampshire village of North Warnborough hear the gathering outside the Lord Derby public house long before they see it. On the first Wednesday of every month, the roar of motorcycle engines pierces the air from 6pm until dawn.Up to 5,000 motorcyclists park their machines six deep on roadside verges and admire the stunts of other riders. As soon as the police are out of sight, such dangerous - and ear-shattering - manoeuvres as "wheelies", "rolling burn outs" and "stoppies" are performed.Others riders approach the roundabout close to the Lord Derby at more than 100mph before slowing to take the curved road at an angle that, at first glance, appears to defy gravity.The motorcyclists boast of a carnival atmosphere free from violence, while they look upon the stunts as "harmless" - if illegal - fun. Villagers, however, say the monthly meetings are a thunderous menace: hundreds of the machines have exhaust pipes with "race cans" fitted that not only increase performance but substantially amplify the noise."

It's a continuous, rumbling noise. Quite a few of them keep their engines running while they are walking around and chatting to each other. I can even hear it through my double-glazing," said Cybil Kemp, aged 76, whose white cottage, with a lilac door and roses around the windows, once a month vibrates to the noise of the motorcycles 400 yards away.In a cottage nearby, a retired couple agreed. "You should hear the noise: it's incredible," said the woman pensioner, who asked not to be identified. They could not, she said, hear their television set because of the din.The residents of North Warnborough, near Basingstoke, are not alone in facing noise pollution on their doorstep. A survey prepared by the Council for the Protection for Rural England (CPRE) showed that the amount of tranquil countryside has fallen considerably - by an area the size of Wales - in the past 30 years.Only 56 per cent of England is now categorised as tranquil compared with 70 per cent 30 years ago. It is estimated that 32 million people in Britain - more than half the population - are exposed to a high level of noise: much of which has a detrimental effect on their lives.

Last week Tony Hale, an independent sound analyst, produced a report showing that Britain was now three times noisier than 30 years ago.Traffic, aircraft, trains and blaring stereo systems all contribute towards the 400,000 complaints that the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health estimates are made each year because of noise pollution.motorcycle accident in salem wiAccording to the CPRE, vehicle traffic has increased almost nine-fold in the past 50 years: car traffic, in particular, is 15 times more than its 1950 level. j and s motorcycle leicesterFor many, however, there is nothing more irritating than the roar of a motorcycle on full throttle, the sound exacerbated by an illegal exhaust. motorcycle shop near lake elsinore

The producers of magazines such as Ride, Fast Bikes, Performance Bikes, Superbikes and Two Wheels Only clearly disagree.In the September issue of Two Wheels Only, five pages are devoted to a feature headlined: "Total mayhem at the Lord Derby: From dusk 'til dawn". victory motorcycle trunk for saleThe report says: "They [the bikers] are there to hang out, egg each other on, 'wheelie' in the face of the law and then do it all again."little mermaid motorcycle helmetsThe September issue of Superbike has a report on a new 1400cc Suzuki in which Alan Dowds, described as the magazine's "very own hunk of beef", tested it on public roads in and near the New Forest. motorcycle chain lube deviceHe writes: "I pull on to a dual carriageway sliproad and give the GSX a proper handful. wrecked motorcycles for sale in nc

I'm quickly the wrong side of 140mph [more than twice the speed limit]." Besides the "wheelies" - the motorcycle accelerating with its front wheel in the air - the other dangerous and very noisy manoeuvres that the riders like to perform are "rolling burn outs", in which the bike spins on one spot; and "stoppies", where it stops on its front wheel, the back shooting into the air.Lee Robb, 32, who has ridden motorcycles for 15 years, yesterday revealed some of the "tricks of the trade" used by fellow bikers to flout noise and road traffic laws. He said that many motorcyclists adapted their machines, immediately after they had passed the MOT test, replacing the standard exhausts with "race cans".Mr Robb, a motorcycle courier from Harlow, Essex, said: "To put on a race can involves removing three or four bolts. You can do that in less than 10 minutes."He said there were a number of places throughout the country, including Box Hill in Surrey, which motorcyclists use as public race and stunt tracks, flouting noise and road traffic laws.

He said some riders found race tracks too expensive and restrictive, while others gain extra excitement from using a public road: dual carriageways with roundabouts are particularly admired.Hampshire police admit that the monthly gatherings at the Lord Derby are impossible to police properly. Officers concentrate on halting dangerous driving, leaving locals to suffer the noise throughout the night.Sgt Nick Harris, who has almost two decades of experience as a motorcycle rider and who has been in charge of policing the monthly meetings for the past six years, said: "Trying to police 5,000 people in an area of only a quarter of a square mile is a nightmare. "The noise is impactive because of the sheer volume of vehicles and the way some of them are ridden, with non-standard exhaust pipes." Enforcing a maximum discharge of 80 decibels from exhaust pipes is impossible with the inadequate equipment available, he said.Other areas, however, take a tougher line on noise. The London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is one of the few local authorities that employs 24-hour "noise patrols".

A spokesman for the council said its 20-strong team brought 40-50 prosecutions a year for noise nuisances.A spokesman said: "We treat this very seriously. We are the most densely populated conurbation in Britain, and we get in the region of 10,000 complaints about noise every year." Individuals are fined up to £1,000 for persistent noise offences and companies up to £5,000 for breaking abatement notices.Mary Stevens, the project manager for the National Society for Clean Air, said noise pollution brought misery to millions of people each year and that the Government was not doing enough to tackle the problem. She said: "This is one of the most widespread environmental problems that we encounter and it is a neglected area of Government policy. We want to see a national strategy that addresses all aspects of noise in a cohesive way." The Government, however, says that it is taking steps to combat noise pollution. Last year it announced a 10-year plan to reduce road noise: all resurfacing on trunk roads will now use low-noise materials.