VILLAGERS have slammed council chiefs after being given a rude awakening by a road-sweeping machine in the middle of the night.

The ‘phantom sweeper’ took to the streets of Kilbarchan earlier this month, with residents complaining they were disturbed by noise between 9pm and 2am.

At first, some villagers thought the sweeper was a low-flying helicopter.

Renfrewshire Council received complaints from locals, with councillors in the village saying they were contacted by scores of people.

Councillor Andy Doig, who represents Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch, has accused the council of “failing to take responsibility” for sending out the vehicle.

He told The Gazette: “The village’s local councillors were contacted by various constituents who were perturbed that a council road-sweeper toured much of Kilbarchan during the previous night, starting around 9pm and going through to around 2am in the morning.

“The noise was such some residents believed at first it was a low-flying helicopter.

“When villagers looked out, they could not believe their eyes that it appeared to be a council road-sweeping machine, trying to clean the gullies.

“Many villagers were so angry they took to social media and it became very much the talking point.

“Early on the Monday morning, one resident called the council, only to be told it must have been an emergency.

“Far from it being an emergency, the council are even denying that the incident was anti-social, despite it awakening dozens of residents with the noise from the machine.

“I just want the council to apologise to the people of Kilbarchan.”

A council officer responded: “There are several factors which would be considered when officers determine whether noise amounts to a statutory nuisance, including the level of noise, its frequency of occurrence, its duration, the time of day it occurs and whether malice is involved.

“The noise from a street sweeper in the circumstances would be considered a transient, short-lived source of noise.”