* Written by Ella Dzelzainis, who campaigned against noisy horns in Hove.

"My house is on the borders of Brighton and Hove, adjacent to a railway line and next to a very short tunnel.

"Until the start of this year, we found the rumble of trains and the hoot of their horns nothing other than quietly companionable.

"But then, in January, South Central introduced its new rolling stock, which was fitted with a new make of horn that completely shattered our domestic peace.

"The horns on the old trains reached levels of about 70 decibels.

"Acoustic readings of the new horns taken at the back of my neighbour's house registered between 93.9 and 103.2 decibels.

"I have never heard a noise like it. It's painful, it floods your entire body and you can feel your brain flinch. In some ways, it has to be experienced to be believed.

"From then on we were woken by the sound of the new horns every morning at 5.20.

"It was repeated throughout the day for anything between four and eight times an hour. It continued up until midnight and then late-night stock movements meant we regularly heard it at 1.20 in the morning, 1.40 in the morning and sometimes at 4am.

"What were the consequences of this type of sleep deprivation and sustained assault from noise?

"Headaches. Frayed tempers. Children's schoolwork suffered through poor concentration. Adults couldn't work effectively. Babies were unable to get their afternoon naps.

"The first time my neighbour's three-year-old daughter heard the noise she ran screaming into the house in terror.

"I've heard the horns while walking out on the Sussex Downs. The area may have been designated one of outstanding natural beauty but it certainly doesn't sound like one any more.

"So, faced with this grotesque intrusion into our daily lives, we had no choice but to complain.

"However, representations to Brighton and Hove City Council met with immediate rebuff. It was adamant local government had no powers to act and suggested we take the matter up with the rail industry.

"In flat contradiction of the council's position, we were advised by central government, that is by the Department for Transport, that local councils did have powers to act under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990.

"Yet, to date, not a single noise abatement order has been served by any council anywhere in the country.

"Given this failure on the part of councils it was fortunate for us that complaints from around the country to local authorities, MPs and the various bodies within the rail industry quickly reached significant critical mass.

"Now, I want to make it very clear that I am utterly supportive of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). It is conducting a full review of the audibility requirements for horns in order to tackle the problem nationwide.

"I stand before you today considerably more sane than I would have been otherwise as the result of a temporary non-compliance order granted a month ago to South Central.

"South Central trains no longer have to sound their horns as they enter and leave four short tunnels in the Brighton, Hove and Lewes area. So, to our enormous relief, we've now had four weeks of uninterrupted sleep.

"But there are hundreds of new trains sitting in sidings throughout the rail network waiting to come into service. Things are going to get much, much worse before they get better.

"While I'm grateful the RSSB has shown such goodwill in its approach to the problem, I'm afraid goodwill does not constitute policy.

"As citizens, we apparently have no legislative protection from this vile noise. Central government says it's local government's responsibility. Local government disagrees.

"We also want to know whether the Environment Protection Act has any teeth at all.

"Furthermore, who is in charge of the environment round here? It would appear to be neither central nor local government. Only the RSSB has acted so far and we can't vote for them.

"It seems that, in this case, the protection of the environment has been left entirely in the hands of an unelected rail industry.

"My fellow citizens and I consider this to be a deeply unsatisfactory state of affairs.

"Our final question today is to ask whether the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does too and, if so, what it intends to do about it."