RESIDENTS who experience sleepless nights at the hands of a North-East police spotter plane have been assured their suffering will soon be over.

The loud noise emitted by the twin engine Islander plane has resulted in many complaints over the years, particularly from people living near its base at Teesside International Airport.

But after years of delay, modern silencers and new state-of-the-art propellers are now expected to be fitted to the plane later this year.

This will reduce engine noise by up to 40 per cent and as will as easing the suffering for people on the ground, it will enable the plane's crew to talk to each other without having to use handsets.

The Islander is jointly operated by Durham, Cleveland and Northumbria police forces.

The main reason for the delay is that the company which builds the Islander, Britten Norman, went into receivership last year.

A new company, the B-N Group, has been formed and it has restarted trials on a new propeller and silencer.

The trials will have to prove to the Civil Aviation Authority that the equipment is not only successful, but in no way hazardous to the flight of the aircraft.

Mark Wilson, head of flight engineering, said he hoped the equipment could be installed on the plane later this year.

"It should make a significant difference to the noise emitted from the plane," he said.

Members of Middleton St George Parish Council recently agreed to write to the North-East Air Support Unit to ask when the silencer would be fitted.

People living in this village suffer most because they live next to the airport.