A 10-year-old street musician has been banished from his local shopping centre after residents complained about his incessant playing of ‘Frère Jacques’.

Marciano Karthaus told NH Nieuws his son, Regilio, started playing his recorder in the streets of Enkhuizen to earn extra pocket money. ‘Yesterday he came home crying,’ said Karthaus on Wednesday. ‘People living in the area complained and the local council sent round the wardens. He was told to leave immediately.’

Buskers are permitted under Enkhuizen’s local by-laws, but Karthaus said his son was told he could only play if he moved to a different spot every 15 minutes. ‘What’s the world coming to?’ he said.

The owner of the shop that Regilio played outside, Asad Radmanesh, said he had not objected. ‘I know some shop owners are bothered by it, but all I see is a young boy who wants to earn a few cents. It should be encouraged.

‘He always comes in for a chat and says he’s bought a present for his brother or sister with his cents. I don’t see what’s wrong with it.’

‘120 times’

But the owner of a nearby women’s clothing store took a different view. ‘I’m not someone who hates children, but this has been driving me round the bend,’ the woman, who was not named, told NH Nieuws. ‘He plays the same song all day long and does it for money. If your passion is music surely you’d learn some more tunes?

‘I hear ‘Frère Jacques 120 times an hour. There comes a point where you can’t shut it out and can’t hear anything else.’

Local council spokeswoman Dorothea Teunissen said several complaints of noise had been received from local residents, but acknowledged that Regilio could not be banned from playing. ‘Our basic rule is that people can make music, but they should be mindful of others,’ she said.