The show must go on: Warwickshire village DJ will continue to host driveway dancing sessions despite noise complaint

Villager and DJ Ian Leaver has been hosting the 11am daily driveway dancing sessions with residents of the leafy Warwickshire village since the beginning of lockdown.

But following a complaint about noise from a resident, Ian received a letter from Stratford District Council advising him on the villager's concerns.

Ian thought that he might have to halt the sessions to avoid prosecution and announced the news on the Tysoe Village Noticeboard Facebook page.

This received hundreds of responses from those who were enjoying the sessions and wanted them to continue.

Farmer Alison Parker said: “This is such a great shame for something which brought great pleasure to many but sadly not the few.

"It was community spirit at its absolute best”.

Sarah Paterson, a physiotherapist who lives in the village, added: “We are totally saddened that one person can prevent something that was giving so much joy.

"You were doing a noble kindness."

But he has since contacted the district council and has been told the sessions can continue "as was".

The council has said: "‘Stratford-on-Avon District Council received a noise nuisance complaint regarding the playing of loud music daily from an address in Tysoe.

"Normal procedures were followed, whereby the council wrote to the resident advising them of the complaint and asking them to take steps to resolve without further involvement from the authority.

"The expectation was that they would moderate what they were doing in consideration for the neighbours; especially during the current lockdown with more people at home, who could be working or poorly.

"The council has not specifically or directly demanded that the music be stopped.

"The recipient was also invited to contact the District Council if they wish to discuss the issue further or receive advice."

Ian has been wiring up his speaker and playing a song for everyone to dance along to.

This has proved to be a huge hit with villagers, who join him at the end of their driveways to dance to classic hits like I Want To Break Free and Dancing in the Street.

Villagers joined him in fancy dress for a socially-distanced version of Peter Kay’s iconic Show me the way to Amarillo, that has been viewed thousands of times on the internet.

And tomorrow, at 11am as always, he'll be playing Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves.

Ian said: "The reason behind the music everyday is to bring the community together at this difficult time and for mental and physical health of our local elderly village people.

"It's son oneg a day for people to all look forward to and to announce birthdays etc to make their day that extra bit special and for people to have a chat to help and be kind to each through this difficult time.

"I have loved every minute of this and it has grown to be very popular amongst a large majority of the village community and has helped everyone pull together as a community and stay strong and safe whilst adhering to social distance guidelines.

"The Peter Kay remake of Amarillo has been the highlight and has reached 34k views on social media and continues to climb every minute.