Evensong at Bath Abbey had to be stopped early on Sunday (21 September) due to disturbance from buskers outside.
According to the Reverend Edward Mason, loud music could be heard from just after 3.30pm and was ‘clearly audible’ during a bible reading.
'We have suffered long enough; at times it's impossible for us to continue to work,' he says. ‘We have had weddings and funerals disrupted and choir practices and services ruined on numerous occasions.’
There has been a reported increase of buskers using amplifiers in recent years, with a ‘traffic light’ system having been put in place on the west door of the Abbey to alert street musicians of services taking place.
Buskers do not require a licence to play in Bath, but they do have an obligation to observe the law regarding noise and anti-social behaviour by following a code of practice.
Councillor David Dixon has said: ‘Under new powers provided by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, we will be looking to ban all amplification within the immediate vicinity of Bath Abbey.’