Drivers in England and Wales could be hit with fines in the future for revving engines and using illegal exhausts under a clampdown on rowdy motorists.

The competition to find and tackle Britain’s noisiest streets is being supported by a £300k government investment.

Backed by new noise camera technology trials, the Transport Secretary has set an ambition to “banish boy racers” in England and Wales.

Grant Shapps said it was time for the UK to “clamp down on this nuisance”, and launched a competition for Britain’s noisiest streets, with the help of a £300k government investment.

MPs are being invited to submit applications to trial new innovative noise cameras in their local area, helping to ensure communities can enjoy their public and residential spaces peacefully.

The four winning areas will trial new phase 2 technology, which can automatically detect when vehicles are breaking legal noise requirements, helping provide police and local authorities with the tools and evidence to take action against drivers who flout noise laws.

While police do have existing powers, including the ability to issue fines, they currently have trouble gathering evidence.

The latest phase of noise trials builds on a three-year programme to perfect the technology.

Research shows noise pollution can have significant impacts on physical and mental health for local residents – with heart attacks, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and stress all linked to long-term contact with loud environments. It can also stop residents, including children, from getting a good night’s sleep.

A study carried out a decade ago estimated the annual social cost of urban road noise was up to £10bn in England alone. This figure incorporates both lost productivity from sleep disturbance and health costs from heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We want those in Britain’s noisiest streets, who are kept up at night by unbearable revving engines and noisy exhausts, to come forward with the help of volunteer areas to test and perfect the latest innovative technology.

“For too long, rowdy drivers have been able to get away with disturbing our communities with illegal noisy vehicles. It’s time we clamp down on this nuisance, banish the boy racer and restore peace and quiet to local streets.”

The trial is being led by the Atkins-Jacobs joint venture, formed by two professional services firms to provide technical consultancy including acoustics expertise, design, modelling and asset management.

The latest announcement follows preliminary testing of a prototype noise camera by DfT back in 2019, which showed the technology can identify individual vehicles in certain circumstances and assign noise levels to them.