Villagers in a (normally sleepy) Yorkshire village are up in arms over the noise at a nearby airfield - the noise of Formula One cars.

According to thisisyork.com, a recent test at Elvington Airfield involving Jaguar (sic), McLaren Mercedes and Jordan has been described as "hellish" and resulted in the owners of the circuit, Elvington Park Ltd, being served with a noise abatement notice.

Project manager Ian Wormald, who was questioned closely by villagers at their annual meeting, told them the company had appealed against the order.

Apparently testing has been carried out at the 'track' for some time, with TV productions companies also using the facility for car testing.

"The Formula One teams generally come at pretty short notice," revealed Wormald. "The testing is actually very short. There is certain noise that goes with high-performance cars but I think it's quite exciting. The testing only takes place during the week."

According to Ian Bailey, chairman of Elvington Parish Council; "They (the F1 cars) were tested five days in a row last week and the noise was absolutely hellish.

"They are breaking the law and we're waiting for the council to take action," he added. "The paradox is that the noise is even worse in Wheldrake, Heslington and Fulford."

To add to the mystery, there is mystery surrounding the owners of the facility, the company being registered in Lichtenstein.

Now, never mind Mr Bailey's comment that "they are breaking the law", are we to take it that the testing agreement is being abused?

According to Pitpass' sources, McLaren is due back at the facility next week (Thursday).