A 17-year-old drummer was fined €50 and effectively stopped from practising in the basement of his home after a magistrate ruled he was annoying neighbours.

The story started when the neighbours of musician Phillip Schembri and his son Kristian, who live in Rabat, filed a police report complaining about the noise caused by the young man when he practised on his drum kit.

The teenager used to play in the afternoons in the basement of his house, which, since the first complaints, had been padded with jablo to muffle the sound.

He has been playing for the past three years to great success, having achieved a high grade and a number of other qualifications in drumming, but he has spent half this time battling the neighbours’ complaints in court.

A court appointed expert, Silvio Scerri, surveyed the site and found that when the boy was playing, the sound in the neighbours’ house would reach over 40 decibels, which he deemed “excessive”. Even after the jablo was installed, the court expert still deemed the sound too high.

In the circumstances, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera fined the teenager and his father €50 each and effectively ordered him to stop playing in the house.

Sensing what was coming, Mr Schembri rented a room for his son at a band club in Rabat where he could practise in peace. A livid Mr Schembri said he was outraged at the ruling, insisting the noise was not excessive and that his son always made sure to play at decent hours.

“The authorities should be helping Kristian instead of condemning him for something he is excelling in,” Mr Schembri said.