Wilde Sapte hits top note in noise case

OPERA lovers are applauding the performance of City firm Wilde Sapte after it succeeded in overturning a conviction for "noise nuisance" against the organiser of the Garsington Opera Festival.

The victory by partner Brian Smith, lawyer Kate McDonald and QC Richard Beckett, means the much-publicised open air festival will go ahead at Oxfordshire's Garsington Manor this summer.

Oxford Crown Court quashed the conviction against Leonard Ingrams earlier this month. Doubts had been raised over the future of the 23-day annual event after Ingrams ran into planning and licensing difficulties following complaints from local objectors last year.

He was initially fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs, but he appealed against the conviction during a three-day trial which heard evidence from 25 witnesses.