Punishment by Manilow

A judge in America has taken an innovative approach to punishing noisy neighbours – he's sentencing them to listen to Barry Manilow.

Manilow is just one of the artists who Judge Paul Sacco has chosen to inflict upon the people – mostly young adults – who break the noise laws in the Colorado city of Fort Lupton.

Also on the playlist at the mandatory 1 hour listening sessions for offenders are The Carpenters, Dolly Parton and Barney The Purple Dinosaur. Listeners are not permitted to eat, drink, read or sleep during the hour.

Judge Sacco explained: 'When you have a person playing rap at extreme volumes all over the city, and they have to sit down and listen for an hour to Barry Manilow, its horrible punishment.'

One of the offenders receiving the punishment, Luis Cano, told TV station CBS4 that 'at about 20 minutes into it, I was trying not to fall asleep.'

Judge Sacco points out that offenders who go through the Manilow procedure – which takes place about four times a year – rarely re-offend.