A number of Maltese World Cup fanatics have made angry calls to the Public Broadcasting Service to complain about the loud buzzing sound of the infamous South African horn which is said to be as loud as a chainsaw.

“Some callers actually thought there were bees trapped in the commentators’ studios,” PBS acting CEO Natalino Fenech said, joking that while PBS had many faults, this was one thing it could not be blamed for.

He said PBS has relayed the complaints to the European Broadcasting Union, in the hope something could be done to reduce the sounds.

“The World Cup is there for people to have fun, so if many people are being annoyed by the sound, something should be done,” Dr Fenech said, adding that perhaps microphones in the stadiums could be adjusted.

Tens of thousands of fans attending the World Cup matches are blowing the deafening vuvuzela frantically throughout the games, sparking calls for the instrument to be banned for the rest of the tournament.

Fans, players and commentators have all registered complaints worldwide, even though others argue that the traditional instrument was essential to giving the World Cup a South African touch.

Calls to ban the plastic horn from matches were initially sparked in the qualifying rounds of the World Cup by the fear that they would be used as weapons or by advertisers.

According to various international media reports, football commentators have variously compared the sound of the horn to a stampede of noisy elephants, a deafening swarm of locusts, a goat on the way to slaughter and a giant hive full of very angry bees. Practised players can generate 127 decibels on a vuvuzela, a level humans rarely encounter outside war zones.

On Sunday, the South African organising chief Danny Jordaan said a ban was being considered.

Meanwhile, earplugs have reportedly ran out in various pharmacies around South Africa as the vuvuzela fuels their demand.