PEOPLE living in Worcestershire make good neighbours according to new figures showing the county's residents made very few complaints about neighbours-from-hell.

Worcestershire County Council received 334 statutory nuisance complaints last year, which accounts for fewer than one complaint per 1,000 residents.

That put Worcestershire third in a poll of councils with the fewest complaints.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, who is chairman of the Worcestershire Regulatory Services joint committee, said: "I think really this shows that residents in the county respect each other and show respect for their neighbours."

Coun Hodgson said noisy neighbours and barking dogs were among the county's most popular complaints.

She added: "I know that Worcestershire Regulatory Services has done a lot of work in how to deal with noise issues. We shouldn't forget that noise issues can be very, very serious and have a real impact on someone directly affected."

The figures came from more than three quarters of councils across the UK who had collectively received nearly half a million complaints from people about their neighbours' behaviour, pets or properties.

Statutory complaints are ones a council has a duty to investigate.

The research, which collated Freedom of Information responses from 318 councils across the country, was put together by Churchill Home Insurance.