A council seized hundreds of pounds worth of stereo equipment after a woman refused to stop playing loud music.

Marie Dankova hit a low note with her neighbours in Dover Road, Folkestone, who complained to Shepway District Council (SDC) about late night noise.

Ms Dankova ignored the authority’s letters asking her to lower the volume and so a probe carried out by council officers uncovered excessively loud singing coming from her home.

The council issued a final warning and obtained a warrant through the courts to confiscate the goods, including several large speakers, a surround sound TV, DVD player and satellite receiver.

Councillor Stuart Peall, cabinet member for the environment said: “It’s possible to enjoy your favourite music at home without disturbing the peace of your neighbours by just considering the time and the volume you play it at.

“We gave Ms Dankova several chances, we explained what was and wasn’t acceptable but her behaviour did not change. This isn’t reasonable, so we took action to protect the rights of the people living around her.

“I would like to thank Ms Dankova’s neighbours for working will us to resolve this problem.”

The equipment was seized on Monday.