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By Ben King, 21 May 2002 16:30

NEWS Vodafone could face legal action after a noisy 10,000-person staff party at Newbury racecourse generated dozens of complaints from local residents. West Berkshire Council said that the promoters of the party, Hyperactive Events, took no notice of repeated requests to turn the noise down and ignored a noise abatement notice. A council statement said: "Failure to comply with the notice means the council can prosecute Hyperactive, and legal advice on this route is being sought. That said, the council is aware that such action would not help those inconvenienced on the night." The council statement avoids mention of a specific lawsuit against Vodafone, which is the biggest employer in the area. If that wasn't bad enough, there were two arrests at the party in the early hours of the morning, and a lady lost her necklace after a scuffle with two other women. A spokeswoman for Thames Valley police said a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a coach driver, and a 22-year old was cautioned for being drunk and disorderly at 02:20(BST). Vodafone's staff parties are legendary, with last year's 11,483-person grande bouffe at Earl's Court setting the record for the largest silver-service dinner in history. This year's do was a smaller affair, with just 10,000 attending a party featuring Jools Holland, Atomic Kitten, the Pretenders, Westlife and Pop Idol Will Young. Vodafone-sponsored sportspeople Rubens Barrichello, Sir Alex Ferguson, Nasser Hussain and Michael Schumacher also sent messages of support to party-goers. Kylie Minogue had been expected to attend, but was apparently otherwise engaged. Despite the strong celebrity line-up, the company will be disappointed that its first staff party in its home town for six years is threatening to end in a court case. The party also attracted controversy as the company's share price fell below £1 for the first time in four years days before the event began. Vodafone and Hyperactive Events were not able to return our requests for comment by press time.