Noisy neighbours biggest problem

Do you get on with your neighbours, or are they stressful? A new report says that a quarter of British people had problems with their neighbours in the past year. A consumer-protection organization, called "Which?" carried out a survey. Researchers asked 2,062 adults about relations with neighbours. They found that 27 per cent had problems. "Which?" said that half of the people felt angry or irritable, and 42 per cent felt stressed. One in ten people admitted to feeling afraid of their neighbours. The survey also found that 64 per cent of people didn't know where to get help and advice.

The biggest complaints about neighbours were loud voices and arguing, loud music and TVs, and slamming doors. People also said drugs and police arriving at their neighbour's house were problems. One-third of people talked to the neighbour about the problem, but the problem got worse if the neighbour did not apologise or continued with their bad behaviour. "Which?" said 86 per cent of young people did not know where to get advice. "Which?" said: "Our research has found that young people especially are suffering in silence." It told people to keep a diary of bad behaviour.