THEME park Alton Towers has apologised to villagers following complaints over noise from the Nemesis ride.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has received a flood of calls from Alton residents, who say the constant rumble has made their lives unbearable over the past two weeks.

Alton Towers said the noise was caused by new tyres on the ride and hope to have resolved the problem by the weekend.

Alton resident Stella Heritage is among the villagers who have made an official complaint to the theme park.

She said: "We live in a stone house and even with all the windows and doors shut, you can hear the noise as though it was coming from the garden.

"Over the past two or three weeks it has been exceptional. It is a real deep rumble.

"We are wondering what is going to happen in the future when the new roller-coaster is built."

An Alton Towers spokesman said: "We are aware that there has been an issue over the noise coming from the Nemesis roller-coaster.

"The ride manufacturers have now visited the site and agree that the cause is the new tyres that we put on as part of our winter maintenance programme, which are made from a harder compound.

"We have changed the wheels on one of the trains, reducing the noise output by over 50 per cent and we are making the changes to the second train.

"We anticipate that this will be completed by the end of the week. We are very sorry that this has been an issue for some of our neighbours."

Sandra Venables, who runs The Malthouse Bed and Breakfast near the park, said: "I was aware of the noise, but it was nothing which was causing us great concern where we are.

"I just thought the wind must have been blowing in the wrong direction."

In 2005, Farley residents Stephen and Suzanne Roper managed to secure a noise abatement notice against Alton Towers after complaining about noise levels from the park.

Apart from shouting and screaming, the Ropers pinpointed noises caused by the operation of rides Oblivion, Air and Nemesis as the worst.

Deputy Moorlands District Council leader, Arthur Forrester, who has cabinet responsibility for the environment, said he has been given an assurance by theme park bosses that problems were being rectified.

He said: "I am told that they have now changed the wheels and tyres over the weekend and that has supposedly reduced the noise.

"I am awaiting the results; the noise has certainly not been acceptable and I am hoping they stick to their promise and put it right."