Police have cracked down on noise nuisance after at least 40 calls about anti-social behaviour at the weekend.

They answered 30 calls on Saturday night alone in Barking and Dagenham, it has been revealed.

Officers have been on patrol in a joint operation with the local authority’s noise-abatement officer Mark Chapman, as part of a summer programme to tackle anti-social behaviour.

One officer remained with him on patrol after midnight in his van until 4am Sunday.

“The Police presence made people switch off the noise immediately,” said Mark. “The noise remained off even after we had left.

“Sharing information and the mutual support makes the scheme a real asset for residents.”

Police responded to 10 late night calls on Friday, then patrolled the streets and dealt with more nuisances such as burglary alarms being triggered.

Insp Richard Thomas, who organised the operation, said: “Most calls are about noise. Anything we can do to intervene and reduce the number of calls has to be a positive step.”

The Noise Abatement officer calls in the police when complaints come in from householders about noise disturbance in the neighbourhood and they meet at the address. Saturday night proved “challenging” with 30 complaints, police admitted.

Chief Insp Richard Goodwin said: “Excessive noise can make life a misery—this operation is making sure tackling anti-social behaviour receives attention.”

The Met Police initiative has been run across the summer as part of a wider operation focusing on all aspects of anti-social behaviour.