A St. John's Road sports club will be prosecuted for allowing loud music to be played on its premises The Royal Gazette has learned.

Police are investigating the Western Stars Sports Club for its role in allowing a reggae sound clash -- the alleged source of the disruptive music -- at is premises on April 15.

More than seven residents complained to the Police about the loud noise which they claim went on past 2 a.m.

One resident who asked not to be identified, wrote a letter to the Editor of The Royal Gazette .

"I know for a fact that several sunrise service plans were cancelled because people couldn't get any decent sleep the night/morning before,'' he wrote.

"This was totally uncalled for behaviour by the sports club and shows total disrespect to the local residents and the religious section of Dandy Town field not to mention total disregard for the law.'' The letter writer also admonished the Police for its response to his complaint.

He said he called the Hamilton Police Station at 12.40 p.m. and made a complaint.

At that time he said he gave the Police his name, address, age and phone number and indicated that he was prepared to go to court to testify if the matter proceed that far.

However, he had to phone the Police station again around 1.15 a.m. and 2.15 a.m. because the music had not subsided even though he had been told that the Police attended the club.

The letter writer said he was told that the Police were unable to do anything because there were more than 300 people at the event.

"It was suggested that I call my local member of Parliament...if I had the phone numbers for my local MPs I would have wakened them out of their peaceful slumber and let them know of my outrage and frustration.

"I could not believe that the local law enforcement could not or would not do their duty.

"If an unruly crowd can do what they want and the local constabulary will not do their job and enforce the law, then why are we paying their salaries with our taxes?'' Police spokesman Insp. Coghlin Gibbons defended the actions taken by the officers who went to investigate the complaint.

He said the officers attended and could have been potentially overwhelmed because there were only 16 Policemen available had the situation required backup.

Consequently, the duty sergeant assessed the size of the gathering as well as the actual and potential mood of the crowd.

"Officer safety and public order are considered as primary,'' he explained.

"The officers should not do anything which would jeopardise their safety or aggravate any existing public disorder.'' Insp. Gibbons said the event at the Dandy Town club involved several hundred youths who were "jam-packed'' under a dark tent where alcohol was being served and consumed.

At that time he said the crowd was not unruly but the darkness, density and size of the crowd created a potential for disorder depending on what the officers did.

Subsequently, the sergeant located a man who claimed to be the organiser around 12.30 a.m.

"When this organiser temporarily turned down the music he said into a microphone for the benefit of the crowd that `Babylon wanted the music down' and made further disparaging remarks about the Police.'' Sports club to be prosecuted As a result the sergeant decided to wait until the end of the event to inform the organiser that the Police intended to prosecute.

"The sergeant decided that given the size of the gathering and the circumstances, there was the potential for disruption and disorder...he decided that it was unwise and unsafe to have taken any aggressive actions like seizing equipment for exhibits or making arrests.'' Insp. Gibbons said that the sergeant went back around 3 p.m. The party had finished. He tried to relocate the man who claimed to be the organiser and found out that he had left.

Furthermore, people at the club also said this man was not even thought to be an organiser. This is currently being investigated because he gave the Police a false name.

Mr. Elroy Ratteray, president of the Western Stars Sports Club, told The Royal Gazette he was not aware of the complaints.

He said the club rented the field out to one of their members and he was supposed to have stopped the music at 1.00 a.m.

"I was present up until midnight and they were getting ready to close the club house at that time. Then I left.

"The next day I was told that the Police came. But I haven't heard anything more.

Mr. Ratteray said that when he heard that the Police came, he spoke to the club's executive and told them to consider not having this kind of event in the future.

"It's very seldom that we have anything at the club,'' he continued. "When this member came to us with the idea we thought it would be a good for the community to come together to enjoy.

"If we did disturb anybody I want to apologise to them on behalf of the Western Stars Sports Club.''