RESIDENTS complaining about glare from new floodlights at Beaminster tennis courts have been served some hard hitting advice - pull the curtains and stop moaning.

That was the suggestion from veteran sports enthusiast Ken Macksey who told district planners that just a handful of people were threatening the future of the play area which he helped set up in the 1980s.

"The town gets an enormous benefit from this and then three people come along and say they are finding life a little bit too difficult," he said. "All people have to do is put a curtain up at their front windows.

"My house looks across the area and in winter I can see the lights and watch play. Never have the lights, original and now, caused me the slightest inconvenience."

But members of the development control west committee agreed a compromise plan last week.

They ordered Beaminster Sports Association to fit cowls to the new lamps and slightly realign them ahead of a site inspection so they could see whether this will reduce the glare to an acceptable level.

Senior planning officer Darren Rogerssaid the association was granted permission in 1987 to run four 2,000 watt floodlights on four 12m high columns around the court at Beaminster School.

But recently it had replaced the lights on each column with two 1,000 watt bulbs without permission.

Although there was no increase in the total amount of light produced the height of the units has been marginally increased. Neighbours, mostly those living opposite the site on the east side of Newtown, complained of undue glare.

As a result club officials agreed, earlier this year, not to use them until planners had considered their retrospective planning application.

David Bowditch, of Newtown, said the new lights caused "tremendous light invasion", particularly in the bedroom. Andrew Simms, also of Newtown, said he did not want his home "to be lit up like a flash cube five nights a week".

Support for the floodlit tennis courts included a petition signed by more than 70 people.

Coun Tim Harries said that just because there were 99 people in favour of something and one against it did not always mean the one person was wrong.

Development services manager John Greenslade reminded the committee that the association had a fallback position - to put back the type of floodlights for which approval was originally granted.