MORE than 500 noise complaints were submitted to Bolton Council during the pandemic.

Across the UK as a whole, there was an average of 1000 noise complaints a day during the pandemic according to research by Churchill Home Insurance.

Nearly 370,000 noise complaints were made between April 2020 and March 2021, 28 per cent more than the previous year when 289,000 complaints were made.

Most councils (86 per cent) reported an increase in noise complaints in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20.

Neighbour noise has had a negative impact on the mental health of almost a third of Brits (32 per cent), some 16.7 million people, with neighbours playing music seen the worst noise for mental health (34 per cent).

This was followed by the noise from children (30 per cent), garden noise (30 per cent), parties (29 per cent) and neighbours coming and going at antisocial hours (24 per cent).

Steven Williams, Head of Churchill home insurance, said: “The pandemic has seen us confined to our homes which means we’ve probably all become very aware of noises around us.

"As we go into more of a ‘new normal’, many of us will carry on working from home, at least part of the time, so noisy neighbours will continue to be really disruptive.

“It may be the case that neighbours don’t realise they are being noisy so the first step should always be speaking to them and explaining the problem.

"If that doesn’t work and they carry on, then keep a record of the type of noise and time of day and speak to your local council about raising a potential noise complaint.”

How many noise complaints were made in Bolton and Greater Manchester?

According to FOI data requested from councils by Churchill Home Insurance, there were  18,433 noise complaints in the North West between April 2020 and March 2021.

This is an increase of 27 per cent on 2019/2020 data.

They also revealed data specific to Greater Manchester.

A spokesperson for Churchill Home Insurance said all Greater Manchester councils were contacted for the data and six responded.

According to the data, a total of 8205 noise complaints were made to the six councils.

In Bolton, 514 noise complaints were submitted to the council which is a 1.6 per cent increase on the year before.

However, this is nothing compared to Manchester when 3993 noise complaints were made – an increase of 31 per cent on 2019/2020 data.

In Stockport, 1523 people complained about noisy neighbours (an increase of 18.8 per cent) and in Tameside 831 submitted complaints (up 13 per cent).

In Oldham, 690 complaints were submitted to the council which is up nine per cent on the year before.

654 Bury residents submitted noise complaints which is a whopping increase of more than 40 per cent on the previous year.

How to cope with noisy neighbours

According to a psychologist, there are several things you can do to cope with noise at home including using ear buds or trying relaxation methods.

Psychologist Donna Dawson, says: "The past 18 months have seen our behaviour change in so many ways. With most of us being limited to our homes on a daily basis, it is understandable that noise complaints have risen.

“Even small changes in sound can cause increased anxiety and stress for many people, especially if it disrupts home life and makes it difficult to relax, work or look after family. 

“When subjected to ongoing noise that is out of your control, there are a few techniques which might help you cope.

“These include moving to another room if possible and use a distraction of your own, such as TV, music or radio; use earplugs to deaden the strength of the sound; take deep breaths from your diaphragm on a slow count of ten on both the inhale and exhale to relax yourself; and even try some vigorous exercise, like jumping jacks, to burn off those stress hormones.

"It is always best to try speaking to a neighbour if you feel their noise is unreasonable, but do so when you are not feeling anxious or angry at the time."