A landlord has defended his bid for live music and longer drinking hours despite fed-up neighbours keeping a diary and video of late-night disturbances.

More than 16 people have lodged objections to the application by Baildon's Bay Horse pub. complaining about noise and anti-social behaviour.

Objections meant the Bay Horse failed in a similar bid to get live music and longer drinking hours last September.

So bad has been the experience been, say one couple, that they have kept regular notes of the abuse and noise they say has been coming from the pub.

The pub wants to be able to stage bands and live entertainment and to serve alcohol until midnight Sundays to Thursdays and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

But despite the opposition landlord Steven Hargreaves, 22, is keeping his fingers crossed that Keighley and Shipley licensing panel will look on him favourably when it meets today.

He said: "I'm the only pub in the whole of Baildon that doesn't have a late-night licence. Getting the licence is a technicality. Punch Taverns wants us to have it so we have the option.

"I don't intend using it, though. My girlfriend is having a baby soon and I don't want late nights. I don't want any trouble with my neighbours."

Mr Hargreaves, who has worked in pubs since he was 17 and grew up in Baildon, said: "I know there's been problems in the past but I'm sorting that out.

"In my first week here I threw out about 50 under-agers. I've joined Pub Watch and have got a quiz going.

"I want it to be a local where people can bring their families."

But residents living nearby have likened the pub in Browgate to a nightclub and say some nights recorded music coming from it is so loud they can hear it in their homes and feel floors vibrate.

Resident Edward Bell, 37, has given evidence to the licensing committee.

Mr Bell, who has a young family, has sent in a diary of misery and a videotape recording late-night rows, glass being broken, arguments, thudding music, pub customers urinating in their doorway, car horns being blasted and people using their property as a beer garden.

He states in a letter to the Council: "The problem started about 18 months ago, it's been hell. We've tried talking to management but they've chopped and changed.

"There's been times when we've had to put up with 11 hours of constant thudding from music. We've also had to move our front door out to cover our porch because of customers mistaking it for part of the pub and using it to drink and smoke cannabis in."

He adds: "We're reasonable people but we've been forced to keep the diary and make the video to prove our point."

e-mail: kathie.griffiths@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

DIARY OF NOISE

Excerpts from Edward Bell's diary submitted to the licensing panel.

  • Friday, March 10, 2006: 9.30pm, music now audible in all rooms of our house; 22.20pm, car horn blasted twice; 23.25pm, car drove at speed straight over pavement at front of our house blaring its horn; 23.38pm, horn blasted twice right outside bedroom as taxis queue up; 01.55am, music still clearly audible in house, sporadic shouting of obscenities until 2am.
  • Friday, March 31: 21.40pm, music can be heard in the house; 21.40pm, filmed man, drink in hand, urinating on bins, threatening to sort someone out on the phone and organising to meet others at the pub for this purpose; 22.35, car horn blasted twice; 22.58, people shouting Hitler and Sieg Heil outside pub and walking up hill.
  • Saturday, June 18: 15.11pm, obscene shouting, bottles rolling about; 15.26pm loud obscenities, took oldest son to his grandmas; 16.25, man drinking and making a phone call wandering around our yard; 17.08, rang police twice due to disorder but no answer both times; 23.14, loads of shouting.