Homeless people in Bournemouth are being driven away by the ear-piercing sound of bagpipe music.
The city centre travel interchange has adopted the sound as a deterrent to those wishing to sleep there.
More than a dozen homeless men and women used to congregate by the station’s restrooms in the Dorset bus station, according to local newspaper Daily Echo.
Not exactly a lullaby...
The initiative was introduced after the rough sleepers reportedly intimidated passers-by and hurled drunken abuse at women.
Between midnight and 6:30am the shrill sound is played out on repeat over the speakers, and so far it appears to have kept away those looking for a place to sleep.
“It seems to be doing the job,” one unnamed station worker told the Daily Echo. “They just cannot stand it, you try getting any sleep with that going on,” he added.
But some locals have not been impressed with the new music system, taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations:
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Whilst one local, who asked not to be named, told the paper: "What a daft idea , all that will do is send them elsewhere, these people need practical help."
The scheme was introduced by Dorset Police and Bournemouth Borough Council, which said it was working hard to address issues of street anti-social behavior.
"This has included regular police patrols, proactive input from our rough sleeper team and we have been trialling the playing of music in the evenings and night time to deter rough sleeping,” a spokesman said.