Vuvuzela inventor says it is the soundtrack of the World Cup

London, June 16 (ANI): Freddie Maake, the man who is believed to have come up with the idea of Vuvuzela horns in the 1960s, said football fans in Britain should embrace the sound as it is part of the unique experience of South African football.

Maake, said it was patronising of the corporation to suggest games might be more enjoyable if the noise was artificially switched off.

The plastic trumpets, which can produce noise levels in excess of 140 decibels, have become the defining symbol of the 2010 World Cup.

Football's world governing body FIFA has come under increasing pressure to ban the horns from grounds during the tournament, but has so far resisted, insisting it is an integral part of the South African game.

Maake, who lives in the Tembisa township near Johannesburg said he was appalled by the idea.

He said: "Who are they to question our culture? The Vuvuzela is part of football in this country. We would not go to Britain or anywhere else and tell people how to act, it is very patronising. This World Cup is in Africa and people should embrace it for what it is."

"That means learning to love the Vuvuzela, so they can feel part of what life here is about. The people at home would miss an important part of the World Cup without that noise," he added.

Maake, a father of nine, said he had the idea for the Vuvuzela when he was 15 and was given a bicycle horn for his birthday. He removed the rubber pump and began blowing through the horn to create an ear-splitting sound.

A fanatical follower of the Kaiser Chiefs football team in Soweto he would blow the horn at matches to demonstrate his support.

He later began manufacturing plastic versions of the horns with a friend and in 2001 another company, Masincedane Sports, began mass-producing them.

Vuvuzelas first came to international attention during the 2009 Confederations Cup, which was also hosted in South Africa.

But similar instruments have been used in Mexico since the 1970s and have been a tradition at the Quebec Winter Carnival for many years. (ANI)