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No love lost over anti-social neighbours

26/06/06

The majority of neighbourhoods suffer from arguments about parking, noise, loud music and lack of privacy, according to a new survey which exposes the deterioration of Britain's community spirit.
 
Research from Cornhill Direct Home Insurance has revealed that a third of homeowners have arguments with their neighbours and a surprising 14 per cent have actually moved house because they were unable to resolve their issues.
 
Nearly a fifth of home-owners admit that they make a concerted effort to avoid their neighbours, including hiding behind cars and inside the house, so that they don't have to talk to them.
 
A spokesman for the home insurance company lamented the situation, saying: "Having neighbours you know and trust is important. A real sense of community helps to reduce crime and vandalism and makes for a much safer place to live."
 
The spokesman revealed that a large number of home insurance claims involve civil disputes between neighbours and said that many of these problems could easily be avoided if people would simply talk to each other.
 
Nine out of ten people simply don't think it is important to be on amicable terms with their neighbours, with a third not even knowing their next-door neighbours' names.
 
The spokesman added: "Getting to know your neighbours and doing things for them like taking in their post when they are away definitely helps reduce crime."
 
However, 34 per cent of the survey respondents revealed that they would prefer to live in an isolated position than in a close community and 61 per cent said that they wouldn't consider asking a neighbour to watch over their home while they went away.
 
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