Neighbours ‘cost Brits £93.4m in damages’

And as debt management problems are compounded nationwide, the financial services firm has revealed that nearly one in 20 households affected financially by their neighbours’ actions pays out more than £1,000 in related costs.

Furthermore, a total of around 543,000 households around the UK are affected in this way by those living close to them and the average amount that has to be paid out as a result is around £172, Abbey’s research demonstrates.

Prasad Shastri, head of insurance marketing at Abbey, said: “Not all damage caused to people’s homes by their neighbours is malicious, in many cases this type of damage is accidental.

“However there are often misconceptions about whose insurance is to be used to claim for it.”

Meanwhile, figures from the national not-for-profit organisation Credit Action show that the overall debt management mountain in the UK increases by around £1 million every four minutes.