SHELL-SHOCKED villagers in Tilshead claim that big gun firing on Salisbury Plain is making their lives a misery.

Ninety-pound shells from the Army's giant 155mm AS90 guns screamed over the village on three consecutive days last week, leaving children and pets terrified.

Strong winds and low cloud cover increased noise levels, leading many villagers to complain that the Army was exceeding the MoD's maximum firing volume of 130 decibels.

Parish council chairman Frank Druce said: "We're being blasted out of existence by these AS90s.

"The Army say that 130 decibels is acceptable. It's certainly not acceptable to us."

Mr Druce said the threshold of pain starts at 140 decibels, while the noise made by a road-drill is about 85 decibels.

Ruth Lyons, a Tilshead resident for five years, said: "I acknowledge the Army's need to be trained and we're happy to endure occasional noise - but not for it to go on endlessly."

The excessive noise in Tilshead has been attributed to its proximity to Copehill Down. Just 2.5km south of Tilshead, it is used as a firing point for the guns which blast 96lb shells over the village to a range of 15 miles.

But an Army spokesman said they did their best to minimise disturbance of surrounding communities on the Plain. "Our primary concern is maintaining the goodwill of those living around us," he said.

Mr Druce has now written to Salisbury MP Robert Key in a bid to get the 130-decibel limit reduced.