No screaming on rollercoaster says Devon park Big Sheep Published duration 30 March 2016

image caption The Big One rollercoaster is the second ride at the theme park to have a sign warning customers not to scream

A theme park has asked people not to scream on a new rollercoaster ride because it's too noisy.

The owners of Big Sheep in north Devon said they erected a warning sign after people living nearby raised concerns over the new ride.

The 400m-long attraction, the Big One, opened at the park this Easter.

Owner Rick Turner said the message to customers was "unless they're absolutely petrified, please please don't scream too much".

The planning process for the ride in the village of Abbotsham had taken four years, and a group of local people had got "very very animated" over the prospect of loud noise coming from the attraction, he told the BBC.

'Shouting excessively'

Over £200,000 has been spent building a large noise reduction bank in the middle of the ride, and legal expertise was sought about the noise levels.

Hugh Bone, chair of Abbotsham parish council said he was "pleased" the sign was there, after villagers asked the council to control "the amount of sound" coming from the theme park.

Local people "do worry" about the noise, he said, particularly on weekends "when there may be funerals or weddings taking place" in the nearby church.

Mr Turner said Big Sheep had been in the village for 30 years and it was "somewhat galling" when new residents decided to complain after they had moved to the village.

However, he said the park tried its best to reduce noise for neighbours, and he hoped the sign would discourage riders from "shouting excessively", even if some would inevitably "squark".

This is the second placard to go up at the park - one next to a flying chair ride reads: "We love our neighbours, no screaming please".