Residents who are angry about noise coming from the printers of the Harry Potter books say that more needs to be done to investigate the problem.

Residents who are angry about noise coming from the printers of the Harry Potter books say that more needs to be done to investigate the problem.

As the EDP reported on Tuesday, environmental health officers say the racket from Clays in Bungay is a "statutory nuisance" and that there is unreasonable interference with residents' rights to peace and quiet. The cause of the noise remains a mystery.

But now it has emerged that Waveney District Council, which is investigating the problem, is relying on Clays' own acoustic engineers to investigate. Resi-dents say it is unsurprising that people paid by Clays have not found the cause of the nuisance.

A petition of 22 signatures has just been sent to the council, asking it to put a stop to the noise. Karen Kennedy, who has organised the petition, said the council needed to do more.

She said: "They have not employed any qualified acoustic consultants themselves. The acoustic consultant is employed by Clays. They are saying the new machinery isn't causing the noise nuisance, but it wasn't there before the new machinery."

The company has recently installed two new printers and a chiller unit on the side of the site nearest to Webster Street and Outney Road. It has applied for retrospective planning permission for the chiller unit, which residents can give their views on, but does not need permission for the printers. Waveney says that the noise does not seem to be coming from the chiller unit, but some residents believe that work done to the foundations for the new printers has created the noise problem.

A council spokesman said: "It is perfectly normal for those under investigation to commission the technical investigatory work required to quantify the problem. Clays are using a reputable firm of acoustic consultants working to standards governed by a professional body. So far, we are 100pc satisfied with the level of commitment shown by Clays in investigating this problem."

A Clay's spokesman said they were "not prepared to comment".