NOISE pollution officers have been called in to monitor the gunshots and bangs of war games in a Beaumont Park woodland.

Huddersfield Team Death Match Airsofting (HTDMA) held its first combat event in Butternab Wood – also known as Round Wood – last Sunday.

The game – which uses air-powered replica firearms to fire plastic pellets in realistic combat scenarios – sparked complaints from residents living nearby.

Loud bangs, the rattle of gunfire and shouting for several hours were among the experiences reported whilst the event was ongoing.

Now, the company has vowed to take action to reduce the level of disturbance to locals, after liaising with the Council’s public protection services and Huddersfield South neighbourhood police

Paul Hinchliffe, HTDMA co-ordinator, said: “We had one or two complaints about the noise, mainly when the fire bangers went off.

“I have agreed to do it at the other side of the woods so nobody can hear it and we will be doing it at the back end of the day, between 3pm and 4pm.

“I am going to move all the orchards to the other side of the woods too.”

Under planning laws, the group is allowed to hold combat events on the private land – owned by the Colne Valley Beagles – for up to 28 days a year without seeking permission from Kirklees Council.

Paul added: “We will be doing it every Sunday now for the next 26 weeks, unless we have really bad weather.

“It went really well and everyone enjoyed it. There were 22 people at the first event and we’re hoping for between 20 and 30 people every week.

“They came from Huddersfield, Barnsley, Manchester and even Birmingham.”

Participants wear the latest British Army S95 clothing, a facemask and are given a battery-operated automatic electric gun (AEG), complete with 1,000 rounds to shoot, to take part.

They also get the chance to throw bangers to mimic grenade scenes, where players within 15 feet of where it lands are deemed ‘dead’.

Resident Jim Gillan, of Delves Wood Road, observed the games from Nether Moor Road.

He said: “It is not appropriate to have armed, camouflaged and masked people within clear view of public roads and residential areas.

“If there was a neighbour playing loud music all day, this wouldn’t be on. Here, we have loud bangs and you just do not know when the next one is coming.

“These bangs are as loud as a firework. The longer this goes on, the more it is going to kick in.”

Sergeant Chris Fisher, of Huddersfield South neighbourhood policing unit, said: “We have spoken to a representative from the company concerned and advised them around environmental legislation. This is not a criminal matter, however, we are liaising with the local authority.”

A Kirklees Council spokesman said: “Following complaints from several residents around Butternab Wood, we have been in contact with the organisers of airsoft games.

“We have advised them to move some of their activities to the furthest part of the woods, away from residents.

“We will be monitoring future airsoft games to assess for noise nuisance and so that we can continue advising residents and the organisers about noise issues.”