SOUND advice was on offer yesterday as a district council showed its support for a national campaign.

An exhibition at Northallerton's Civic Centre was Hambleton District Council's way to raise awareness of the impact of excessive noise on Noise Action Day.

As well as the informative display, leaflets were distributed to local police stations, housing associations and Citizens Advice Bureaux to highlight the disruption and distress noise can cause.

"Noise is unwanted sound and while sound is essential in our daily lives, noise is not," said the council's cabinet spokesman on Environmental Health, Councillor David Blades. "It can cause disruption and distress at home, at leisure and at work.

"We are asking that everyone supports this day and considers the noise they make and how it affects others, as well as the noises that disturb them."

Co-ordinated by the environmental charity, the National Society for Clean Air (NSCA), the campaign hopes to cut down the amount of "domestic din".

That includes tips on music, parties, barking dogs, using appliances, alarms, DIY, gardening, fireworks, floor coverings and shouting.

For more information - and details on how to tackle a noise problem - contact the District Council's Environmental Health Team on (01609) 767059.