More than 2,000 complaints were recorded across Dorset as noisy neighbours caused a headache during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council recorded 1,704 noise complaints linked to neighbours between April 2020 and March this year, according to new figures - meaning 429 complaints for every 100,000 people .

The number of complaints soared from 1,378 the year before – a 24 per cent increase – as people across the area were confined to their homes for sustained periods of lockdown.

Whereas, Dorset Council recorded 1,394 noise complaints linked to neighbours between April 2020 and March this year, according to new figures.

That was 367 complaints for every 100,000 people .

The number of complaints rose slightly from 1,385 the year before as people across the area were confined to their homes for sustained periods of lockdown.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to hundreds of local authorities by Churchill Home Insurance found there were more than 368,000 complaints about noisy neighbours lodged to 267 councils across the UK in 2020-21, a 28 per cent rise from the previous year.

Local authorities are responsible for investigating complaints about issues that could be a statutory nuisance and have a duty to carry out inspections to detect and investigate nuisance complaints, including those concerning excessive noise.

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “Greater numbers of people working from home and being on furlough during the pandemic, as well as the good weather in the summer of 2020, can be attributed to a seen increase in noise complaints. High levels of disturbance from noise are likely, as residents are exposed to noise for longer durations whilst noise is more audible through open windows. We also saw increases in other types of domestic nuisance, such as smoke from bonfires.

To address this we have stepped up our night-time and weekend on-call services for noise and other nuisances, whereby we are able to respond to incidents of noise nuisance promptly and, where we witness a nuisance, prevent it’s continuation. We do this initially by asking the person causing the noise to reduce the sound level. Usually this is sufficient, but if our requests are ignored we serve an enforcement notice which, if not complied with, results in prosecution and/or seizure of the noise-making equipment.”

Janet Moore, Dorset Council service manager for environmental protection said: "During the pandemic people have spent more time at home than before. Whether this is working from home, or due to being furloughed we are more aware of our neighbours.

“We always advise people to first try to resolve the problem early on by talking to whoever is responsible for the noise, before going down the formal complaint route. On our web page https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/environmental-health/environmental-health/noise-complaints residents can find out about the type of complaints we can deal with and how they can be reported.

“We ask complainants to keep a log of evidence of legal nuisances. We often try to find a suitable compromise between the complainant and the person/business that the complaint is against before formal enforcement is needed.”