Annoying neighbours have pushed Westminster residents to make the highest number of complaints in London.

There were 8,600 calls made to Westminster Council in the first nine months of last year, the fourth highest in the UK behind Fife, Newcastle upon Tyne and Belfast City.

That is about 38 complaints per 1,000 residents, a Freedom of Information request by Churchill Home Insurance showed.

Frustrated residents complained most about noise (6,428 complaints), forcing the council to issue the highest number of noise abatement notices in the country (535).

Westminster also topped the complaints list for residents upset about their neighbours’ parking and vehicles, with 1,552 calls.

Steve Harrison, Westminster’s strategic director of premises management, said the authority was keen to tackle nuisance neighbours.

Mr Harrison said: “Westminster is a small, highly populated area sitting at the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world. Add to that the transient nature of its residential population, the daily turnaround of a million workers and visitors, plus Westminster’s thriving night-time economy, and you have a unique borough with a unique set of opportunities – and challenges.

“As for noise, Westminster is the only council in the country to have a team specifically dealing with complaints 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – so it’s little wonder we take more calls than most. Our residents know we take noise issues seriously and figures show that the vast majority of cases are sorted after just one call.”